They Walk a Path of Dirt
by CaroAmy
Summary: They walk underground;observe him in the shadows, live as if dead. In a city, a world, of stalking cameras, in an ocean of lies they must learn to adapt. Otherwise it's not only over for them, but for everyone else as well. They're walking a path of dirt.
1. Prologue, Seven

Prologue-

_Each drop of water is precious as the last; however, the last drop is the most precious of them all._

The once vibrant and bustling cities now sleep under a quilt of dispiriting fog. The once lively homes packed with families and friends now silently rest. No one dares to yell of happiness, no one dares to laugh.

Seven years have passed. Almost a full decade has gone by since the day Dr. Ivo Robotnik, no longer called Eggman due to fear, destroyed the seven Chaos Emeralds. His action caused a distortion in the world. Even the Master Emerald stopped functioning correctly. It was, however, the following event that changed the world entirely. Dr. Robotnik filtered the energy which broke free (from the emeralds) into a single machine. Unsurprisingly, this machine proved to be the most powerful and destructive on Earth. With the emeralds destroyed there was no possible way to halt the scientist. Once more Sonic and his companions set out to stop the doctor, but all their attacks were fruitless. For the first time Dr. Ivo Robotnik won. The blue "menace" failed along with his friends, and this made it possible for the doctor to finally rule the world.

This created the current present; a nefarious world in which all life had to offer was angst. Those who remembered the past suffered due to their hope for a better future, though few remembered at all. Dr. Robotnik took it upon himself to brainwash potential threats and kill insignificant nuisances. He did not want a revolution. His people had to trust and obey him, and for such to happen the citizens had to be ignorant of the past and freedom. _Ignorance is bliss. _

Naïvely he believed that Sonic, as well as his companions, had been killed during the final battle that granted him victory. He had received a report from one of his robots stating his deadly machine had "successfully sent the pests into oblivion". Wrong he was, for many had survived. However, they remained in a dreamless sleep in a secret underground lab.

A very intelligent, but unknown, scientist found them immobilized on the ground a few hours after the battle. Their vitals were quite low. Along with some friends he carried the Mobians down into his underground lab. Quickly, he placed them on large separate tubes, and after clicking a series of colorful buttons and adjusting some chemicals, the tubes closed and an orange-ish liquid surrounded the bodies. An oxygen mask connected to an oxygen "bank", which had to be refilled everyday by the scientist, allowed the Mobians to breathe. This mixture of chemicals would keep them alive, but asleep, until their bodies fully restored their original and full strength- even if this strength was still to be awakened.

Dr. Luke had been secretly working with these chemicals for years, and he finally put them to the test with the Mobians. It had been a secret, as he feared his research would end up in wrong hands. Also, ever since the battles began, he had feared the heroes would need assistance. For the fate of the future all he could do, along with his few friends and familiars who survived and were also living in the secret laboratory, was pray and wish for them to wake up fully restored.

Seven years after the incident, one of the tubes began beeping. Shadow The Hedgehog was about to wake up. Just as Dr. Luke had suspected, he would be the first. And, as he had hoped, shortly after the other tubes began beeping as well. All seven were restored. All seven were waking up. All seven had to now face the harsh reality.

* * *

First of all I would like to thank RyukoVulpix for beta reading this. **Thank you very much!**

Now, this was meant to be a sequel to my story _Emerald Coast High,_ but seeing as I was unhappy with the story, thus chosing to erase it, I made it so you can read this story and understand it perfectly without reading _Emerald Coast High_. In fact those who read _Emerald Coast High_ might find some things different here (such as pairings...which I don't know if I'll add any yet).

Dr. Robotnik, Eggman, Sonic... (c) SEGA, Sonic Team

Dr. Luke and other characters belong to me

Please review, I really want to create an interesting story and improve my writing.


	2. Cyan

Chapter 1-

"Hurry up and turn the senseless barrier to the maximum! We don't want _him _to pick up any strange readings," Dr. Luke ordered a young man of about twenty-eight who was standing next to him.

"Won't he pick up the barrier?" The young man asked.

"I honestly don't think so. The machine readings would be easier to pick up than the barrier. Besides, this base is located in a remote area. He probably even _forgot_ this place used to be the Mystic Ruins. It's only trash now, excluding the surviving temple. Go on, quickly," he answered impatiently as he clicked a few buttons on the machine that was situated next to the tubes. The beeping stopped.

"Well, then why do we even bother to have a barrier? I never understood," the other complained as he fulfilled his task.

"Just in case. Better safe than sorry. Come on over here and help me. The others are still asleep so it's up to us to accommodate them. I'll open up the tubes one by one. All you have to do is take the Mobians over to the empty mattresses," he ordered.

"What mattresses?"

"The ones I placed near the table. You probably didn't notice, I only set them out recently. I didn't expect them to wake up any earlier than today. Go on, hurry up. The liquid from Shadow's tube is almost gone."

The young man now stood in front of the tube. He saw the liquid disappearing into a canal. Dr. Luke was probably saving the liquid somewhere. When he heard a low creaking noise his attention focused once more on the body inside the tube. Once the tube fully opened and the cords keeping his body still broke, Shadow fell on top of the young man. Quickly, he carried Shadow's body and placed it on a mattress.

"Go on Tom, I don't have all day. They're all awake you know? They're bodies are going to react in a while and they're all going to be confused. I can just predict Knuckles's reaction. Hurry up."

Tom repeated these actions six times. Finally all seven of them were lying on the mattresses: Shadow, Tails, Rouge, Amy, Sonic, Espio and Knuckles. Dr. Luke covered them with a blanket, leaving only their heads uncovered. Soon they would open their eyes. Feeling very anxious, Dr. Luke said to Tom, "Go wake up the others and tell them what has happened. But don't bring them in until I've called."

Five minutes later, almost simultaneously, the Mobians' eyes opened. In order to avoid further confusion or shock Dr. Luke immediately told them to remain covered, especially the females, because they were naked and their bodies had changed. Shock overwhelmed them anyways. So, before he got unjustly slapped by one of the females, he told them seven years had passed and their bodies had changed, but they had remained asleep. He allowed them a few minutes to process this. Then, he quickly told them what had happened. He told them about Dr. Robotnik's victory, how he saved them, and how Dr. Robotnik now ruled the world. Surprisingly, Tails was the first to talk.

"Where are the others?" Such an innocent question, but it broke the doctor's heart.

"They are in peace," he whispered. Then continued, "many have died since Egg—I mean Robotnik took power. Innocents and revolutionaries. Others have been brainwashed. We are hidden in my secret laboratory. Robotnik does not know of my existence or yours for that matter. He believes you are all… dead. We are currently situated in the Mystic Ruins… or what's left of it. We're underground. I apologize for the… ugly and not very comfortable accommodation. However, we do live quite well in comparison with the ones who live above us. They live in angst, fear—"

"So Eggman won. I can't believe he defeated us," Sonic said quietly.

Such a murmur caused all to stay very still and quiet. It was a fact, and the fact was still settling in. Dr. Luke, afraid that an emotional breakdown would happen very soon, said,

"It wasn't your fault, Sonic. He destroyed the Chaos Emeralds. This created an imbalance in the world. Even the Master Emerald malfunctioned. There was no way you could have won without the emeralds' power, even if you all fought together."

"Speaking of which, where _is_ the Master Emerald?" Knuckles interrupted. The doctor chuckled.

"I knew you'd ask that. One of my friends retrieved it from Angel Island, which fell as you know, and successfully brought it here. You may see to it later."

"This is pathetic, how could that idiot defeat us?" Shadow complained. Espio simply nodded. Then realization hit him.

"You said your name was Dr. Luke, right?" Espio asked.

"That is correct."

"Could you be Luke, the one who sent the letter to the Chaotix Detective Agency?"

"That would also be correct. Unfortunately my theory was correct… and I am aware of how you tried to stop it, unfortunately we were all too late. This at least gave me time to prepare the lab. I sensed a catastrophe, so I somewhat anticipated your need of assistance… I was lucky enough to find you all and save you before another robot came to certify your death," he explained.

The doctor looked at Amy who had been sniffling all along. He was aware of the emotional moment, as well as a shock, but they needed to be strong. They had to find a way to defeat Robotnik. It was distressing to see the once active heroes with such unconfident faces. Dr. Luke knew defeating Robotnik would not be an easy task. So many people worked for him, trusted him, _loved _him. Let it be out of fear or influence, most survivors learned to accept and like Robotnik. But they had to be strong. Even if they were few they still had to try. Dr. Luke did not want to give up. For humanity, for Earth.

"Amy, you have to be strong," said Tails. "We all do. I know Cream…Vanilla…Vector… our friends are gone, but they're looking after us. They want us to defeat Eggman. Amy, please don't cry…" Tails tried to comfort her.

Dr. Luke decided it was time to wrap up the "information session". He called Tom, who immediately appeared with five other people behind him. A sixteen year old teenager called Tulip, a middle aged man called Jason along with what appeared to be his middle aged wife called Sophie, a man called Roy, and a seventeen year old teenager called James were all quickly introduced. Roy was Dr. Luke's brother, and James was their cousin. Jason, Sophie and their daughter were Dr. Luke's friends as well as Tom.

Sophie smiled at the Mobians and said, "I knew you'd be waking up soon so I took the liberty to get you all some clothes. There isn't much variety, but I did the best I could. Also I apologize if you don't like them… and if they look a little strange," Sophie told them after the introductions. She seemed very sweet, and received a few thank you's. Shadow and Espio remained silent.

"I think it's best for you to go get dressed. Amy, Rouge, please go with Sophie and try on your clothes," Dr. Luke suggested.

The underground lab, connected to underground sleeping/living quarters was quite spacious. The lab, being the largest room, was rectangular consisting roughly of 90m2. 20 of these 90m2 were dedicated to a research area where an extensive bookcase, desk, three computers and cabinets containing chemicals, test tubes, and other tools were located. Then there was the 25m2 area which was made up of all the tubes the Mobians had been kept in, along with the oval, grey machine which controlled the level of chemicals and rectangular oxygen bank. The remaining space was occupied with tables, two electricity generators powered by solar panels on the surface, a three meter long machine of a dull black color, which the Mobians didn't know what was used for, a refrigerator, a couch, a table and free space where the mattresses were placed. The whole room was of a grey color including the metallic bookcase and desk. Only the blue couch brought a little color to the room. A small corridor connected the lab to three different doors. One door led to the reasonably sized kitchen. The door in the middle led to the living quarters which consisted of five bedrooms. The biggest room was for Dr. Luke, Roy and James, another room for Sophie, Jason and Tom, the smallest for Tulip. A guestroom or how Dr. Luke liked to call it, a possible refugee/survivor room also existed along with the fifth room which was used as the medical room. Each room had a small bathroom and was linked to a shared 12m2 living room with a television and two couches in the back of the underground lab. The door on the left led to the water reservoir, storage room and laundry. All in all it was a fairly spacious secret underground laboratory with living quarters.

They quietly obeyed. All seven were still psychologically shocked, some more than others, after what had happened. It would take a while to get back to normal. Once they reached the guestroom Sophie opened the wardrobe and took out a few pieces of clothes. Then she organized them and presented them to the two females.

"This outfit is yours, Rouge," she pointed to the left, "and this one yours, Amy," and she pointed to the right.

Rouge's outfit consisted of a grey top with a rather noticeable V-neckline with a silver belt under the breast and shiny black pants. The outfit also included black gloves that ended a little after the elbow. The shoes were simple black boots. Rouge nodded, let go of the blanket that was covering her and began dressing.

Amy's outfit was different. It consisted of a white tank top, jean capris, a belted black leather jacket, white gloves and red tennis shoes with black shoe laces and a thick white line (like her old boots). It was different, but Amy followed Rouge's steps and began dressing as well.

When the two females were ready they looked at each other.

"You've grown. Leather suits you," Rouge complimented.

"Thank you. You look good yourself," Amy smiled.

"The boys are probably done dressing too. I heard Tom entering the room followed by them. They're in a room next to this one," Sophie said as she looked over the two females. "You both look good. I hope you like the outfits!"

"Thank you, they're wonderful. Really, thank you for devoting the time," Amy said.

They left the room. Sophie led them to the boy's chamber, but the door was closed. She knocked once, twice, and finally Tom answered. He claimed the boys were ready, but weren't comfortable in their outfits. Apparently they did not like wearing clothes, although their outfits consisted of little. Amy barged into the room, followed by Rouge. The males took no notice. They were all in a circle debating whether or not they would wear the outfits.

Tails was wearing a green trench coat with black buttons. He had matching tennis shoes which were half green half white. Around his waist he had a brown belt with pockets on the sides. This would probably be helpful. Knuckles was wearing an exact same trench coat but brown. He had brown hiking boots and around his waist he also had a brown belt, but on the sides it had especially designed gun pockets. Sonic was also wearing the same trench coat but blue, and had on his usual tennis shoes. Shadow was wearing a slightly shorter white trench coat, which was closed, and also had his normal hover shoes. Espio had the same trench coat as Tails but in a dark red color, and dark purple tennis shoes.

"You guys look cute," Rouge boldly said. This caught their attention. They turned towards the girls and sighed.

"We don't really like wearing clothes…" Sonic stated.

"Rouge and I aren't wearing our normal clothes, but hey, a change is always welcome," said Amy. "As long as it's a good change. You don't look bad."

"You don't look bad at all, Amy…" Tails said, but no one heard him because Dr. Luke entered the room with a box. He set the box on the floor and began handing what appeared to be glasses. Sun glasses. He gave Sonic a grey one with blue lenses, Espio a black one with purple lenses, Shadow a black one with white lenses, Knuckles a grey one with yellow lenses, Amy a grey one with red lenses, Rouge a black one with red lenses, and Tails a brown one with white lenses which were very similar to pilot goggles.

"What are these for?" Knuckles asked as he examined his.

Tails began explaining before Dr. Luke could say a word. "Contact. On the left, there is a device near the lens which allows us to communicate. This will probably only work for a determined distance and the glasses must be turned on. Which explains the very small button, which is of the same color as the rest of the glasses, on the temples. If you click it, the communicator will probably work. I know this because I've seen a pair of these before a few years back. There is also another button on the bridge, so if you're wearing the glasses and press them down with your finger, your nose will hopefully push the button. This will activate something… I need to try it and see," Tails began explaining before Dr. Luke could say a word.

"Very perceptive and intelligent, as I thought you'd be. They are indeed used for communication and only for over a twenty kilometer radius. If you click the button on the bridge information will appear before you, thanks to the lenses. You will be able to see any hidden enemies through heat waves and strange wavelengths among other things. Simply whisper your order and desire, and if the lenses were programmed to identify such a thing they will. These will be useful outside. The outside world has changed quite a lot, these glasses will be very handy," Dr. Luke informed.

"Tell me, Dr. Luke, what are you thinking?" Sonic asked.

"You're quite the idiot. He obviously wants us to kick Robotnik's behind. We failed last time; we need to find a way to do it this time. It's our last chance," Shadow spit.

"Shadow's right. We must find a way to stop him. The emeralds are gone, and we can't win against him without using something else. The emeralds made us stronger; we have to find something else that will. Until we find that something we need to observe Eggman, see his mistakes, know his security, know his moves, understand his tactics and find a way to ruin them. Even though currently we can't do any massive damage, we can annoy him by ruining his small plans or by having more people revolt. We need to be calm, confident, observant, and intelligent. Until we find a way to defeat him we can only do so much," Espio agreed.

"Precisely. Which is why I'm handing you these glasses. I could simply give you old glasses which are programmed to allow communication and other simple tasks, but I'm giving you these ones. I did not mention before, but I will now. One of the features when you click the button on the bridge is to disguise your appearance. Robotnik has cameras, spies, anything and everything out in the streets. If Sonic were to appear, even wearing clothes, he'd still be recognizable. Robotnik would kill him in two minutes. Now, if you click this button and say "disguise", your appearance will change. Knuckles, do not yell at me yet, but I added a small Master Emerald chip into each one of these." Knuckles grumbled a little but once he noticed that the doctor was staring at him he stopped.

Dr. Luke smiled and continued, "although the Master Emerald is malfunctioning it still allowed me to borrow some of its energy. This is what allows your appearance to change. Basically the first time you use the button and say "disguise" you think of a disguise. I would highly recommend you imagining yourselves as humans, seeing as it's the best disguise now that most Mobians have… left. The image will be stored, and every time you say "disguise" from then on that will be your disguise. The emerald allows this to happen due to optical illusion, it will 'control', in a way, how people see you. So you're not actually "disguised" but people, cameras, nothing will pick up your true self. They will simply pick up the illusion," Dr. Luke began, but when he saw their confused faces he said, "I'm sorry if this is very confusing, I'm trying to make this as simple as possible. This feature only works for around five hours. Just like the Chaos Emeralds couldn't hold Sonic's super form for eternity, neither can the chip hold your disguise forever. These will be useful when you go out on reconnaissance. Now, the reason for the clothes. You don't need to wear them inside the laboratory; however, if you go out you must wear your outfits. All of you have plenty of pockets where you can put gadgets I'm working on and weapons. Even when you are in disguise form those weapons won't show up, so you can still use them. People will only see you holding nothing but air."

The group heard and processed the information. Dr. Luke noticed their faces and decided they needed some space. They had grown physically, but their mental state remained the same… supposedly. They all seemed more mature though. The issues had definitely hit them. He signaled Tom and Sophie to leave the room. He left after them leaving the seven heroes alone with their thoughts.

Amy broke down seconds after they left. She sat on a bed and began crying silently. Tails sat next to her and hugged her. He shed two tears himself, but did not wish to show them. Rouge remained silent along with Espio and Shadow. Knuckles tried punching the wall while Sonic suppressed his desire to run and stop Eggman.

* * *

Small note: Espio knew who Dr. Luke was because 7 years ago the Chaotix had received a letter from a Dr. Luke with a theory about Eggman taking over the world. The group (Sonic and all the others) didn't manage to stop Eggman in time leading to the current present.

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Espio, Shadow, Amy, Rouge (c)SEGA, Sonic Team

Dr Luke, Tom, Roy, Jason, Sophie and Tulip belong to me


	3. Orange

Chapter 2-

_As they walk stones are placed along the pathway. With these stones a suitable, leveled pathway is hoped to achieve. The stones disappear. They walk a path of dirt._

He couldn't sleep. It wasn't because of the dull surroundings, the metallic, cold floor or the hum of the computer. He wasn't even cold, since the blanket was more than enough to warm him. The others were asleep. It had taken them awhile, but their eyelids were now, at three in the morning, shut. Even Shadow's. He couldn't meditate, and that was a first. Something had to trouble him enough to prevent his meditative skills. He knew what it was. He couldn't leave, get fresh air. Trying to make as little noise as possible, which for a trained ninja wasn't hard, he left the lab where all the males were sleeping. The girls slept in the guestroom. At first he considered making himself tea, but didn't feel comfortable enough to go through the kitchen's cupboards. Everyone was being nice enough letting all seven of them stay. Instead he entered the laundry room where the machine was off and no one would be around him. Maybe there he'd be able to meditate.

White. The room was white for a change. He still missed color though. Espio never thought he'd miss a colorful room… seeing as the Chaotix Detective Agency wasn't the most colorful of places. Three males did run the place. Used to. At one point. Now no one did. And if anyone did, only one remained. Giving in to his feelings Espio hit the floor. Once he regained his calm composure he whispered his colleagues- no, his friends names.

"I never thought I'd see you like this," someone whispered from the door. He was caught off guard, which showed how distracted he was, how his feelings were messing with his abilities.

"Amy…" He sat down next to the washing machine. She sat next to him.

"It's good. It shows you still have feelings, not that I ever doubted that."

Neither had anything to say. Not out loud anyway. Their hearts yearned to act, to feel, to fill the void. Vengeance had crossed their minds, but vengeance wasn't what they were about. Any of them. Not at this point. All they could do is accept and change for the better. They would do that. All had vowed so in their hearts.

"I even miss his loud music… his annoying remarks," he let out.

"Vector and Charmy… they'd be worried if they saw you like this."

"They would never see me like this. I'd turn invisible. Not that I ever did," Espio commented.

"Why didn't you? When I came in I mean."

"I just… didn't feel like it." Amy nodded. No matter how lonely she felt and wished to stay in his company, she got up and left, leaving Espio with the loneliness he desired… without having to mask his sadness.

* * *

The small room was colorless. Well, it had the floor's metallic color along with the two white single beds and closet, but besides that no other color existed. The bathroom, fortunately, was blue. Rouge was seriously considering painting the light bulbs in different colors in order to add a certain life to the room. One of the beds was empty. _Where did Amy go…? _It didn't matter. Rouge knew the pink hedgehog wouldn't dare go outside. The bat got up and made her way to the bathroom. Wearing green, oversized pajamas that used to belong to Tulip, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Seven years had passed indeed. She looked more mature, but she didn't have exhausted eyes, as would be expected by someone who had lived through these past seven years.

Rouge wondered what the world looked like. She felt like a three year old girl who had never seen the world and kept imagining it as something beautiful, extraordinary. Then she remembered who currently ruled, who was in charge. With him on top, the world would be everything but beautiful, everything but extraordinary.

The bedroom's door opened slightly. Soft footsteps were heard heading towards one of the beds. Rouge reentered the bedroom and saw Amy making herself comfortable in one of the beds. _No matter how rotten the world might be right now, we'll make it better. Right now we have a comfortable home. Yes… because this is now our home. _Rouge climbed onto the bed. It took her another hour to finally fall asleep. During that hour Amy called out her friend's names in her sleep, especially Cream.

* * *

He woke at dawn perplexed by the lack of natural light. It took him three seconds to realize he wouldn't be waking up to see the sun rising anytime soon. He looked around in the dark, the only source of light being a very weak desk light in the far end of the room. Everyone was still asleep except the ebony hedgehog. His mattress, to his surprise, was already neatly covered by a white blanket. Silently, as to not wake up the others, he made his 'bed' and walked to the nearest bathroom, only to be intersected by Shadow.

"We should wake up the others and talk before the humans wake up," the crimson eyed hedgehog hissed.

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? We can't trust these humans, we have no reason to," Shadow answered.

"Are you crazy? Doctor Luke saved our behinds and is offering us hospitality. He wants the same thing we do. To destroy Eggman's dream empire and make sure everything goes back to normal."

"How can you be so sure, echidna? That's what the doctor told us, but he could very well be lying. He didn't give us any reason to believe him."

"Listen Shadow, I really gotta go to the bathroom. Save your irrational insecurities for the next guy who wakes up…" Knuckles said trying to pass.

"Irrational insecurities? Let me put it in simple terms so you understand. Imagine two rabbits were found being chased by a fox and a human saved them. He took the two rabbits home, gave them shelter and food. Every day the two rabbits would be fed, and after a couple of weeks they took their daily meals for granted. Until one day the very nice human grabbed one of the rabbits by its ears. Then the second. Both rabbits were killed and ended up as the very nice human's dinner that night."

"Wait, please don't tell me you're suggesting that Doctor Luke and everyone else will feed us until we get fat and then eat us?" Knuckles asked while trying to suppress his laughter.

"No. I guess I underestimated your intelligence. What I'm saying is that Doctor Luke might use us and then get rid of us without us even realizing it because, like the rabbits, we took his hospitality for granted. Imagine Doctor Luke is working for Eggman? Well… bad example, he wouldn't have kept us asleep for seven years… but imagine he'll sell us off for a reward, money, power?" Shadow insisted.

"Hey, I'm sorry but I really don't think so. You seem to be the only one doubting him. Drop the paranoia," Knuckles said while he unsuccessfully tried to push Shadow away from the bathroom's entrance. "Will you move?"

"Hmph."

Shadow walked off into the kitchen. He wanted to trust the humans, but to trust them he'd have to see the present world with his own eyes. Perhaps he'd leave the base today, use the glasses for the first time… Knuckles showed up at the kitchen. He was famished, but didn't feel comfortable enough to go through the cupboards. After ten minutes of looking at the floor Knuckles picked up footsteps. Hoping it would be one of the humans, preferably one who could prepare breakfast, he sat down on one of the chairs around the table. With a yawn Sophie entered the kitchen in her light blue pajamas. Startled, since she didn't expect to see two Mobians awake, she stopped making her way to the refrigerator.

"Why, you're awake awfully early. It's only six in the morning! You two must be hungry. Want me to prepare you breakfast?" She kindly asked.

"I would love it if you could make us breakfast… but I think Shadow would rather stay with an empty stomach. He's afraid you'll feed him until he's round, and then eat him for dinner. Like rabbits," Knuckles replied. He chuckled at Shadow's growl.

"What a preposterous idea!" Sophie exclaimed after laughing.

She swiftly made her way to the refrigerator, took out fifteen eggs and margarine, and made her way to the stove. She placed the ingredients on top of the counter next to the stove and took out a frying pan from one of the cupboards. As she kept preparing breakfast Knuckles smirked at Shadow who was ignoring the echidna's existence.

Back in the lab two others were waking up. Like Knuckles they sighed at the lack of sunlight, but were still thankful for being alive. Espio and Tails made their way to the kitchen where scrambled eggs had just been placed on the table. Sophie and Knuckles were quietly eating their share, while Shadow stood next to the sink drinking a cup of cold chocolate milk. Sophie smiled at the half-asleep Mobians and told them to get a plate from the cupboard near the sink. When the two sat down at the table she served them and gave each a fork. Soon enough others began to wake up and join them in the kitchen. First was Doctor Luke followed by Roy, then Tom followed by Tulip and Jason. Sophie frowned and wondered if breakfast would be enough for all. She got up and checked the refrigerator. They were almost out of eggs, which would be problematic. She went over the extra refrigerator, which was as big as the other and used to keep extra food. It needed to be stocked as well. Amy and Rouge entered the kitchen and noticed Sophie's frown.

"Is something wrong Sophie?" Amy asked politely.

"Well, we're almost out of eggs… and both refrigerators could use some stocking up. Now that we're thirteen our stock will have to increase," she explained.

"How will you manage to increase the food supply? Does anyone earn a salary?" Rouge asked as she stole some scrambled eggs from Tails's plate.

"Roy is the only one who works. He's in advertisement and sends his work and ideas via email since he's listed as a victim of an incurable disease and has to stay home. The company's data on him include his residence, which would be a house in Station Square, and his email address along with his laptop's IP. Luke's parents left quite a lot of money for their son which enabled him to build this underground base, and he has some money on the side from his salary when he worked as a scientist. He wasn't known, which was unfortunate for him at the time but fortunate for us now," Sophie said.

"What do you and Jason do?" Tails asked after chewing.

"James and I help my parents at the small farm near the base. We have a few animals there including chickens, rabbits, and ducks. We grow all sorts of vegetables and fruit. Since the farm is in the middle of the Mystic Ruins, which has been sort of forgotten, and doesn't stand out no one ever annoyed us. We were lucky to find good soil," Tulip answered before her mother.

"Then we can help you at the farm!" Amy suggested. Sophie smiled but shook her head.

"You're needed here with Luke and Tom. Don't forget who you're up against. Once in awhile I'll let you help, but you need to stay focused. You need to practice fighting, since it has been several years since you last fought, and you need to plan your mission. Defeating Eggman is not a walk around the park."

Amy looked down embarrassed. _How could I have forgotten what we were up against? We're not here to have fun and play survival… we're here to actually help everyone survive. We have to stay focused… for all those who died…_ Tails, who was standing next to the sink, looked at Amy. He enthusiastically grabbed his plate, which he had just washed, and filled it with scrambled eggs. Then he grabbed a clean fork and walked over to the pink hedgehog with a smile.

"Here, it will make you feel better." Amy looked up at the fox and allowed his honest, gentle, blue eyes comfort her. She accepted the plate and sat down next to Rouge who was already eating her share.

Sleepily, Sonic entered the kitchen. He chuckled at the view. Tails was standing next to Rouge and Amy while they ate their breakfast. Knuckles was trying to avoid the ivory bat sitting in front of him while Shadow was leaning on the counter with his empty cup. Espio was silently listening to Tulip going on about how working at the farm was fun and Sophie trying to get her daughter to eat something. Roy, Doctor Luke and Jason were talking near the refrigerator. To Sonic it was amusing to see how comfortable everyone was after such a confusing, glum, even dramatic night. The sun had risen.

* * *

James was the last one to wake up. It was eight thirty by the time he finished breakfast and everyone was already working on their tasks. Tom and Doctor Luke were briefing the Mobians on the geographical changes, Sophie, Tulip and Jason were at the farm and Roy was working on his next project. It was a Tuesday, meaning it was James's day to clean the base. He grumbled as he imagined how his day would turn out. He'd much rather be outside at the farm than inside cleaning. One idea did cheer him up. Now with the Mobians his next turn to clean would be days away, which would be a nice rest.

He looked at Doctor Luke who was enthusiastically pointing to a map of Station Square. The forty-one year old doctor was tall, had short black hair with matching dark eyes and stubble. He didn't share many physical qualities with his younger brother who was only thirty. Roy had messy chocolate hair, green eyes and was a little bit shorter than his brother. James resembled Doctor Luke, except he wasn't tall. Tom, who was standing next to Doctor Luke, looked at James and shrugged. At the young age of twenty-five, Tom had never gone through the crazy twenty year old years, probably because he couldn't. He'd been in hiding ever since he was thirteen but, when well disguised, was given permission to walk around Station Square. He never missed curfew, and rarely showed an interest in going out at night or having girlfriends. His priority was to bring the world he remembered back. Although he wasn't as intelligent as Roy and nowhere near Doctor Luke, he was quite cultured and curious, making him a fast learner. Plus, whenever the tension was too much to bear, Tom always managed to get a chuckle out of everyone. Since James hadn't responded and just stood there, Tom left the group and walked over to the boy.

He asked if something was wrong, and when James answered negatively Tom suggested him to begin working, since cleaning duties had doubled with all the new inhabitants. James complained to himself and left towards the kitchen where he'd have to clean and prepare lunch.

Once Doctor Luke finished his lesson on how the cities had changed geographically, Shadow stood up and with his bloodshot eyes stared at Doctor Luke, who didn't shrink in fear or submission. "I want to go out." He put it simply and selfishly. It didn't matter the circumstances. Shadow wanted to go outside.

"I know how you must miss the outdoors, and understand that perfectly… but I can't allow you to leave yet. You need to know exactly how the cities are being watched. There are cameras in certain places, certain laws you need to accept and live by so you don't look suspicious, certain habits… some policemen, or even Eggman's guards which tend to be robots, won't recognize you and believe you to be from a neighboring town." Doctor Luke began patiently explaining. "You'll need to know how to act if one of these figures approaches you and asks you what you are doing here. We must be prepared. Before you go to the city you will-"

"If I find myself in that situation I will act accordingly. I don't plan on being caught by _him_. Plus, I won't take orders from you. I will go outside in order to believe everything you've been telling us, everything all of you have believed without question," Shadow interrupted. Doctor Luke knew Shadow would do as he wished, so instead of insisting on the hedgehog staying he sighed and said,

"You might as well go. Just don't forget your glasses or how they work. Tom, give him the SX03." Tom handed Shadow a silver gun.

"It has special bullets inside. When hit by one of the bullets the victim forgets everything that had happened fifteen minutes prior to being shot, including being shot as well. This happens due to a brusque reaction in the brain. The victim will also feel nausea after being shot. The gun only has six bullets and works like any normal gun," Tom explained. The ebony hedgehog nodded and walked over to his mattress. Under the pillow were the clothes he had received the day before. He quickly put them on, putting the gun in one of the pockets, and put on his glasses as well.

Shadow looked back at Doctor Luke, who signaled Tom to open the doors and lead Shadow outside. He did as asked and once he inserted the code on the entrance door, the door opened leading to a steep staircase. When they reached the top of the staircase Tom inserted a different code and the outside doors opened. The sun shone onto Shadow's face, and although Shadow himself wasn't a big fan of the sun he instantly felt thankful to its existence.

"Be at the entrance no later than four. That's when Tulip and her parents get back from the farm. You can enter the base with them then. Here, take my spare watch so you can keep time," Tom said as he handed the hedgehog a watch.

"You don't trust me enough to give me the code huh?"

"You don't trust us," Tom retorted. Shadow smirked and began walking away into the dense jungle.

Shadow had been to the Mystic Ruins before, but he had never thoroughly explored it. He ran around until he passed the ruins of the temple, and noticed that behind the temple stood the ruins of one of Eggman's old bases. He laughed silently to himself at the sight of the pathetic base. One day soon his Robotnik Empire would be in ruins, just like his base. After running around for ten minutes he spotted a metal ladder leading to the edge of the cliff. Seven years ago that ladder had been made out of wood. He effortlessly reached the top of the cliff and found the broken wooden cart near the entrance of the tunnel. Clicking the button on the bridge of the glasses, Shadow whispered "disguise", and ten seconds later a teenager with short black hair, a red hoodie, denim jeans and black tennis shoes replaced the hedgehog. He just hoped fashion hadn't changed radically enough to make him stand out. _I guess I'll just have to walk…_ and Shadow disappeared into the tunnel.

* * *

Let's pretend Shadow needs to eat and sleep in this story even though he is the "Ultimate Lifeform".

Please review, I'd love to get input!

Sonic and all related characters (c) SEGA

Doctor Luke and all related characters belong to me.


	4. Green

Chapter 3-

_ The lovely hills of green that existed in everyone were made up of different shades. However, now, green they are no more. _

He sat quietly on Doctor Luke's bed. He eyed the document sitting next to him. It was a fat, black covered notebook. In it were listed all the new laws and alterations under the new empire. Next to it was a smaller notebook. This one contained an organized list of robots, their designs, strengths, weaknesses, their uses or daily missions, and where they could usually be found. The hedgehog had begun reading the small notebook, but he refused to open the other. He'd let Tails memorize it.

Sonic wasn't tired, but he lay down anyway. He would much rather sleep than deal with reality at the moment. It took a lot of energy to pretend he was alright. Accidentally, his left foot kicked the small notebook onto the ground. Grumbling, the blue hedgehog sat up and stared at the notebook on the floor. At first anger enveloped him. Anger at how much the robots had improved, how difficult they'd prove to be if underestimated. Then remorse kicked in. He could have done more seven years ago, tried a different tactic… saved more lives…

The little rabbit had nothing to do with the battle. Her innocence was to have been kept alive, along with her. How did she die? Did she pass away peacefully in her sleep, hopefully during a good dream which would accompany her to someplace better than this rotten world? Or was she tortured to death? Brutally kil—assassinated? What about that other kid…? Charmy? And Vector? Were they killed by an explosion or taken captive?

Sonic felt like tearing the notebook to pieces, express his anger and frustration. He hadn't told anyone, not even Tails, but that night all these thoughts had haunted him. He could not help but feel like he had disappointed the world, his friends, everyone he cared about. He could have tried harder, he could have run another kilometer, destroyed another troop of robots… What he'd done hadn't been enough. Feeling claustrophobic and ready to explode, Sonic left the room without bothering to pick up the notebook. He needed to run.

* * *

Shadow hadn't known what to expect, but he certainly hadn't expected _this_.

Station Square only had the honor of receiving the onyx hedgehog a couple of times seven years ago, and in one of those visits he had been mistaken by Sonic. The main landmarks were still there, such as the beach along with an unharmed hotel. Twinkle Park had survived as well. All the other buildings had been enhanced, or built from scratch. Skyscrapers going over eighty floors with Robotnik's logo could be found almost everywhere he turned. The train station, now being some kind of monument to Dr. Robotnik, was built out of black marble and had his statue right in front of the entrance. It had been the first thing Shadow saw once he stepped off the train and opened the station's doors. Had Shadow been a bad liar anyone could have picked up his disgust as he looked at the statue.

He was now standing in front of the hotel observing the pedestrians. Nothing looked out of place, except for the blunt propaganda. He couldn't find a perfectly white wall anywhere; they all had Robotnik's logo. A three meter tall poster featuring Robotnik's photograph and the phrase "Trust, Love, Obey" was placed in every street, sometimes more than once. The poster was hung in apartment buildings, skyscrapers, on the sides of the Twinkle Park entrance with the small elevator.

Shadow hadn't expected the city to look so normal, as if nothing had gone wrong seven years ago.

Out of the corner of his eye Shadow noticed a robot staring at him. He was probably being scanned. Trying to look casual, he signaled the next taxi to stop and entered it. Only when the taxi began moving did Shadow remember a crucial detail: he had no money. Mentally cursing, Shadow was ready to ask the taxi driver to stop once he was out of the robot's sight, but when he was about to speak a metallic head turned towards him and asked,

"Where to sir?"

_Shit. A robot. _

"Actually, I just changed my mind. I was planning on going downtown, but first I want to buy a newspaper," he said while pointing at the newsstand. His good eyesight allowed him to read the headlines printed in bold on one of the newspapers. **His Greatness's Speech Moved Civilians to Tears**. "I want to read his Greatness's speech, seeing as I was unable to listen to it," he lied. The metallic face seemed to nod and parked next to the newsstand.

"Only a few civilians were able to assist since the tickets sold out quickly. Next time try to be an exemplary citizen and get hold of your ticket before your parents. Remember, you are the new generation that will be under the grace of his Greatness. You must show your love to be loved. Since I didn't cover even half a kilometer I will not charge you. Go be a son of his Greatness. Reread his speech until you have it memorized," the robot said. Shadow found it odd how the robot spoke so much, as if he had his own thoughts. He was amazed by the propaganda leaving its metallic body too. Shadow nodded and stepped out of the taxi. He watched the yellow car leave before picking up a newspaper at the stand.

_Sheer propaganda. Disgusting. _

"Would you like to buy it?" A young lady standing in front of him asked.

"No. I already have a copy. It's just that every time I pass by this newspaper I can't help but pick it up and appreciate the article. It is a fantastic article, worthy of being in the front page, wouldn't you agree?" He asked looking completely amazed and submissive towards 'his greatness'.

"Yes, it is a brilliant article," she warmly replied.

Once he was a safe distance from the newsstand, Shadow emitted a low growl. Acting like one of Eggman's loyal subjects was not his idea of fun. As he kept walking he couldn't help but notice how he was constantly being watched. Sometimes he spotted cameras out on the streets, usually attached to street lamps, other times robots seemed to scan him. Stopping in front of a store, he looked at his reflection. A seventeen year old boy with raven hair stared back at him. _At least his inventions work properly…_

_

* * *

_

He had been allowed to go outside. Tom had given him the passwords and had guided him to the ruins of the temple. The echidna knew what to do from there. Cautiously Knuckles entered the temple, following the map Doctor Luke had made for him. It would soon lead him to the Master Emerald's chamber. A chamber deep inside the temple, protected by the temple's mystical powers making the emeralds detection impossible from the outside. The red echidna turned left and was greeted by a dead-end. Confused, he looked back at the map. It had finished as well. Scratching the back of his neck, Knuckles wondered how he'd get to the other side, since he was now sure that was where the emerald was being kept. Digging through the wall wasn't a possibility since the material was too rough. There didn't seem to be any clues lying around either. Could he have taken a wrong turn? He checked the map again. No. Wait… what if he dug on the ground? With a grin he did just that.

_Bingo_.

Without its glowing magnificence, there stood the Master Emerald. After a quick inspection, Knuckles saw where Doctor Luke had taken the small shards from. They weren't very visible, meaning they had been small as the doctor had said. With a sigh, Knuckles patted the emerald hoping it would glow as it used to. It did not. He sat down next to it and, seven years later, was once more its Guardian.

* * *

He tried not to laugh once he reached the town hall. There was a statue of Eggman and Chaos next to the entrance door. Shadow had been told countless times how Eggman tried to use Chaos to destroy Station Square and failed miserably. The statue was probably symbolic, in Eggman's mind, and was meant to show how he was able to control such a powerful creature… even though Sonic defeated it at the end when Eggman no longer had control over it. Shadow believed it to be pathetic. Then again, it kept the propaganda going. Which seemed to be the only big change in the city, apart from the skyscrapers. Boy, was brainwashing popular in Eggman's regime.

Satisfied, the onyx hedgehog began making his way back. Two hours had elapsed and he wasn't sure how much longer his 'disguise' would last. After walking down the street for twenty minutes Shadow looked back over his shoulder. A clunky robot labeled T-002 was pursuing him, he was sure of it. Mentally sighing, Shadow crossed the street and camouflaged himself in the crowd. If the robot had a scanner device it would easily spot him, so he had to come up with a plan. He discreetly clicked the button on the bridge and whispered almost inaudibly,

"Track robot T-002". Quickly information began appearing on the lenses.

**Target located. Position: 270****o****. Weapons: unarmed. Type: surveillance. Strengths: in depth scans and memory banks, speed, visual field. Weaknesses: no weapons, bad hand-to-hand combat skills, limbs. **

He mentally grinned. If need be the robot would be easy to defeat. The only issue was where to do it. Where there weren't cameras, there were robots and witnesses. His best option was to act casually and board the next train. If the robot kept pursuing him he'd have to get rid of him in the Mystic Ruins where surveillance was low.

* * *

Tails looked at his best friend. He had pleaded Doctor Luke to go outside, claimed he needed fresh air. Despite his trust towards the blue hedgehog, Doctor Luke didn't want to let him out just yet. Like the ebony hedgehog, Sonic might end up going to Station Square and act recklessly. So, in order to avoid any impulsive behavior, Doctor Luke thought it best to confine, as Sonic would word it, the hedgehog for one more day until he had accepted the situation.

So now Sonic was brooding in the kitchen. The two were alone, Sonic sitting on a chair playing with a spoon while frowning, and Tails drinking a cup of water. The azure hedgehog let the spoon fall and looked at it. In the end he shrugged and left it on the floor. Shaking his head, Tails picked up the spoon. After rinsing and drying it he opened a drawer and placed it inside.

"Sulking won't make it any better Sonic," Tails said. The hedgehog shrugged. "You can't let it get to you. He has a point. You need to accept what happened, be optimistic and—"

"I'm done with being optimistic. I was optimistic all those years ago and look what it brought us! You accept what's going on. You be optimistic. You weren't the one who failed the world Tails, I was. I'm the only one who can understand this feeling –" Sonic harshly replied.

"Stop being selfish! You were _not _fighting Eggman alone. We were all with you. We all lost someone dear to us. We all failed, _together_. No one was ever alone in this. We're all trying to be positive, to make this work. Doctor Luke gave us a chance, seven years later, to bring down Eggman. So stop sulking. Get yourself together Sonic," Tails responded to his outburst.

Sonic sat quietly staring at his friend. Tails's facial expression softened. He placed his empty cup in the sink and left the kitchen, hoping some time alone would bring the old Sonic back.

* * *

He disembarked the train. The Mystic Ruins train stop had ceased to exist, so he had to walk three kilometers along the old train tracks in order to arrive at the old Mystic Ruins stop. Like he did three hours earlier. T-002 was still following him. Shadow decided that it was best to get rid of the robot before he reached the Mystic Ruins and before he communicated any strange behavior to other nearby robots. Suddenly, he had an idea. He crossed over to the other side of the tracks where, if you fell, you'd fall into the ocean. Hoping his plan would work, he _accidentally_ tripped and fell, then grabbed onto the metallic structure under the tracks. As quietly and flexibly as he could, he made his way onto the other side of the structure. By checking the lenses he could tell that the robot was on the edge, his back to him. He was probably trying to find a body in the ocean. Just as Shadow expected him to. Taking advantage of the situation, Shadow quickly climbed onto the tracks and pushed the robot's back. He openly smirked as he observed T-002 fall into the deep, blue ocean.

Shadow could now make the rest of his journey in peace.

When Shadow was about to enter the tunnel that led to the jungle he heard his glasses beeping. Someone was trying to contact him through text. Shadow accepted the transmission and soon enough the text appeared. **Shadow, you'll receive this message once you come within a twenty kilometer range. Could you please go to where my workshop used to be situated and check out its condition? It would be helpful if any of my old projects were still in there and functional. Tails. **The hedgehog frowned. The fox could have just left the base and gone himself. How was he supposed to know what was functional or not? Grunting, he went anyways.

The workshop was standing, which was a plus. Maybe Eggman hadn't bothered to check it out. Once Shadow entered the house this possibility vanished. It was empty. Apart from the furniture that is. No experiments, machines, books, or even his laptop were inside. The airplane was gone too. Shadow checked every chamber and none had a single project inside. The only thing worth taking was the beds and blankets. Before he left he looked at the small television. Curious, he turned it on. In all the five channels Tails had only one had a program on. It was called _History Hour_ and was a long document about how Doctor Robotnik came to power. It glorified the overweight doctor, and insulted the Mobians. Called them insolent pests who weren't even worth fighting against. It also claimed they were easily dealt with. Shadow couldn't help but chuckle. How Eggman had been wrong seven years ago…

He arrived at the entrance of the base a few minutes later, his disguise already worn out. When his patience was wearing thin, since he detested waiting, he spotted a red echidna coming his way and wondered why Knuckles had been outside. With a 'hey' the echidna quickly marked the code and the door opened. _So he trusts the echidna but not me… very well. _After Knuckles opened the second door, Shadow entered the base. Wouldn't the others love to know how their beloved Station Square was now…?

"Where's faker?" He asked once the doors closed behind him. Knuckles shrugged.

"In the kitchen," Tails said.

"Go call him. He'll be interested in what I have to say. You all will."

When Tails didn't move, Knuckles went instead. Soon enough a still sulking Sonic came out. They all went into the girls' room where they would have more privacy. When they were all assembled Shadow began explaining all he had seen, the propaganda, robots, how he was followed and finished by describing Tails's workshop. The silent atmosphere that followed didn't bother him in the least, but he could see by their facial expressions that they desperately wanted someone to talk. Someone to comfort them, tell them everything would work out. Shadow was not the one to do it.

"It will be alright," Tails said. "We'll overcome this."

"He's right. We will," Amy agreed.

Sensing some kind of pep talk coming up, Shadow left the room. He had no time for cheers or encouragement speeches. A war would have to be fought, and he had to be ready for it. Sonic left after Shadow, surprising all others in the room. He went back into the kitchen, sat once more on his chair, and once more stared at the table in front of him. Sulking.

* * *

This chapter is a little smaller than the first two... and I might go back and edit it a third time.

Hope you enjoyed!


	5. Yellow

Chapter 4-

They had been granted access to go outside. Roy had prepared a secure area that was to be used as a training field near the base. The route to enter the training field was tricky, since a cave had to first be found. The easiest way to locate it would be to reach the ladder which connected the cliff with the jungle, and from there walk down the path on the right until the cave's entrance could be seen. At first sight the cave would seem like an oval room lacking space. However, if by either climbing or flying (in Tails's case) someone were to reach a small platform extended from the cave's back wall a tiny switch of a sandy color could be seen. If it were clicked, the back wall would slowly move back until an unlit passage appeared. After following this passage for a couple of minutes light would be seen at the end, and soon enough the sandy desert would be reached.

Tails had known of this place. He had gone here a few years ago when he was looking for a tailed frog that had swallowed a Chaos Emerald. He was the first to step into the desert, followed by the others and Roy. Sonic had stayed at the base. He was the only one Doctor Luke hadn't given permission to leave. With reason, for Sonic had spent the whole day yesterday moping and didn't seem any better today.

Tails smiled as he remembered sandboarding down the desert. It had been fun. He allowed his eyes to appreciate the vista, which he had always deemed beautiful and calm. Amy's physical reaction did not quite seem to agree with his opinion. She kicked the sand up, and although her eyes seemed to enjoy the scenery in front of her, she was boiling.

"For some odd reason, the desert's temperature will cool down in an hour and stay at a reasonable temperature until four in the afternoon. That means we have seven hours to practice. We'll have one hour for lunch, which Sophie will bring to us here at noon, where you will eat and relax. I brought enough water bottles for everyone," Roy began explaining once he got their attention. "For this first hour of intense heat we'll take it easy. Just try to get used to the temperature. Girls, tomorrow make sure you wear something lighter. Sophie will help you with that. The boys are fine without their outfits. Alright, so to begin I want you all to look at me and stretch the way I do."

Although he didn't look it, Roy was fit and knew the best ways to train the group. He had joined three different sports teams during high school, and during university had taken martial arts classes. The first half an hour was dedicated to thorough stretches. The group hadn't been active for seven years; he had to make sure they wouldn't be injured on their first practice. When that was done, he asked them to line up. He was going to fight with each of them individually so he could gauge their strength and combat skills in hand-to-hand combat. First up was Knuckles.

The red echidna used predominantly his fists to attack as well as evade Roy's attacks. Although his punches were strong and stable, the lack of other attacks made his offensive unreliable. To prove this, Roy used his kicks to push the echidna onto the ground and then his hands to keep him there. Knuckles had to increase his fighting style, but keep his strength. He had given Roy a nasty punch on the cheek which he felt proud of, seeing as Roy was much taller than him.

Next up was Tails. Although the fox had no defined style, making some of his attacks sloppy and purely intuitional, he had a great advantage. His two tails that not only allowed him to fly, but attack and defend as well. He could become a great opponent if he mastered a specific style. In the end Tails didn't manage to land a good punch or kick, but on the other hand, he had been capable of defending all of Roy's attacks except one unexpected punch.

Roy was a little tired, but after drinking some water he called up the next Mobian. Rouge. She predominantly used her feet to kick and sometimes her fists to defend. She had some strength, but that could be improved. The bat was also sly, and took advantage of his open spots. Her defensive skills were not the best, and her strength and speed could be improved.

Looking at his choices, he chose Amy next. Without her hammer all Amy could rely on was her speed. She used it defensively, trying to evade Roy's attacks. But to run energy was needed and she would soon be tired. Like Tails she had no style, but she was capable of making quick decisions. He was sure that with her hammer she would have been much stronger. Her speed was an advantage, but she needed to work on most of the rest.

Only Espio and Shadow were left. Roy knew perfectly well that he could not defeat a ninja or such a fast hedgehog, so instead of making himself the opponent he decided to make the two Mobians fight amongst themselves. At first Espio was taken aback. Then he understood and agreed.

The first to attack was the impatient Shadow. He began with a homing attack, Espio quickly evading it by running behind the hedgehog and throwing two _shuriken _at his back. Shadow sensed this attack and in a blink of an eye was next to Espio. The chameleon managed to land a kick on the hedgehog's stomach, throwing him back, but Shadow quickly recomposed himself and charged towards the chameleon with a spin dash. Taking a millisecond too long to react he was hit and went flying for two meters. Surprisingly, he landed perfectly on the ground with almost an invisible smirk. Soon enough tiny bombs exploded around Shadow. Before being hit, Espio had let a few of his _shuriken_ explosives fall onto the ground. Expecting Shadow to appear through the smoke, Espio threw five _kunai_ towards the area. A black blur quickly evaded each of them and stopped in front of Espio landing a punch on his arm. Shadow's fur was messy and dirty, he had felt the impact of the small explosives.

The two Mobians were now concentrated in their hand-to-hand combat, which Espio was perfectly comfortable with. He had knowledge of martial arts. During the intense fight, both had received strong punches. Espio defended easily, while Shadow was sloppier, but Shadow's sheer force made his attacks more powerful. If they had kept fighting hand-to-hand Espio would have probably won. But such was not the case. In the end, when Shadow was a few steps away from the chameleon, he threatened Espio with his Chaos Spear. With a respectful nod Espio admitted his defeat.

Both were tired and dirty. Each grabbed a water bottle and gulped down water until their thirst was satiated. Their small battle had lasted forty-five minutes. Roy congratulated both on a skilled fight and then turned to the others. With an authoritarian voice said,

"I will divide you in groups so you can learn with each other. Then, individually, I will teach some of you new skills. After a week I will fight each of you individually again so I can judge your improvements. Now… Amy and Rouge. Rouge, you will teach Amy the principles of hand-to-hand combat and practice her kicks. Amy, you will help Rouge improve her speed. Knuckles and Espio. Espio will help refine Knuckles's style, while Knuckles will help Espio increase his strength. Shadow, you're going to pair up with Tails. However, for these first two days you will be practicing alone. I want to practice with Tails, explain him the importance of having a fighting style and help him create his own. You will keep these groups until the end of the week. You only stop and rest when I tell you to stop and rest. Give your group some space, but don't wander off. Go. Tails, come with me."

The pairs wandered off, finding a small area for themselves. Shadow was the only one who was practicing near the crumbling rocks. Roy took Tails near the entrance of the passage. There he could help the fox improve his skills and keep an eye on all of the groups. Tails stood obediently in front of him, waiting for his order. With a hopeful smile, Roy began fighting with Tails, correcting him when his moves were sloppy. He hoped that by practice, and not theory, Tails would learn quicker.

* * *

Sonic was lying down on his mattress. Tom and Doctor Luke were on the computer discussing something Sonic could not comprehend. He heard the base's door open. The blue blur sat up only to see Sophie entering the base. Part of him had hoped it would have been Tails, or even Shadow. The feeling of loneliness was slowly strangling him. Doctor Luke had noticed this, but until Sonic decided to get better on his own he could do nothing. An hour earlier, he had gotten up and reluctantly took the black covered notebook from a shelf. Yesterday he hadn't even opened it. Doctor Luke thought it had been a first step to let go of the past and accept the present. But in the end, the hedgehog placed the notebook back on the shelf. The hedgehog kept staring at the ceiling for another hour until Sophie reappeared with a basket in her hands.

"Lunch is ready in the kitchen. I'm going to deliver lunch at the farm first, and then I'm coming back to pack the basket with the lunch for Roy and the others. They must be famished. They've been practicing for a few hours now!" Sophie exclaimed. Doctor Luke assented and Sonic heard the door close.

_They have been practicing for a few hours eh? Well… I wonder how they're doing…_ Sonic sat up again. He began walking around the lab causing curious glances to be directed at him. He couldn't stand there and lie around while the others were outside practicing. They were practicing for a battle, a war. A war they would win. Tails had been right yesterday, Doctor Luke had given them a second chance at victory. They had to grab it, and make the most out of it. _But, what if we fail again? No one in their right mind would give us a third chance…_ Now, in his imagination, Sonic could hear Tails's voice, _yes they would, because they know we can do it._ It was worth the shot. When Sophie came back and prepared the next basket, Sonic walked over to Doctor Luke and asked,

"Can I go with Sophie?"

His steady face and determined eyes contradicted his confused, yet hopeful, thoughts. It was a start; it was a small first step. But it had to be taken. Doctor Luke nodded. _Sonic might not be ready to see Station Square yet, but he is ready to prepare himself for the fight. _

_

* * *

_

Sonic was surprised. Like Tails, he had been at the desert before, but he hadn't expected the training grounds to be there. Following Sophie, he entered the passage. Soon enough both appeared in the shining desert and had the opportunity to see the Mobians practicing with all their might. Roy, who had just defended himself against one of Tails's punches, spotted Sophie. Glad to have a break, he called out 'lunch break', but only Tails who was right beside him seemed to have listened. The others were either too far away or too absorbed in their training. Sonic grinned, and in ten seconds had gone to each pair and informed them of their break.

At the end of the light lunch, they eagerly returned to their groups. Sonic now being paired up with Shadow. Roy thought it was great to see the Mobians so eager to practice, but he wondered if the motivation would last until the end of the week.

At four, he ended practice. He congratulated them on their hard work, as a teacher would, and recommended a relaxing shower. Tired, they slowly followed Roy back to the entrance of the base. When everyone but Tails, Amy and Knuckles had entered, Tails asked Roy if he could visit his old workshop. He thought about his request. It wasn't dangerous, since surveillance was low, but if they were unlucky a robot could show up and the fox wasn't disguised…

"I'll go with him. We'll be fine," Amy said trying to persuade the man. He ended up allowing them. He told them both passwords and asked them to be back by seven, dinner time.

They walked silently towards the cliff, both too tired to speak. When they reached the ladder Amy mentally complained about having to climb it. If Tails hadn't been so tired he would have suggested taking Amy and flying up. Eventually both just went up the ladder. After a ten minute walk in the tunnel, they reached the azure lake with its cascading waterfall. Ignoring her sore legs, Amy ran down the natural created stairs that led to the lake.

"Amy, we don't know if it's safe!" Tails yelled after her. When he reached the lake he saw the young hedgehog play with the water. He chuckled at the sight, and for a few seconds forgot all that was wrong with the world. She turned back to him and smiled.

"Sorry, I just missed the water," she apologized. The two got back on track and made their way up the hill to Tails's workshop. The door was unlocked, as Shadow said it would be.

"Are you ready?" Amy asked.

"Yeah…"

The two stepped inside. At first the workshop looked perfectly normal. Then Tails missed the messy papers around the house, his experiments neatly organized in the back of the living room, and his black laptop on top of the table. They were all gone. Involuntarily, Tails lowered his ears. Memories flooded his mind. He remembered working on experiments, improving the Tornado with Sonic, holding his tenth birthday party in the living room… he had planned to have his 'sweet sixteen' in that same living room. He was now seventeen.

Sensing his sadness, Amy ran upstairs and came back with something behind her back. With a smile, she presented it to Tails. It was a dusty picture frame with a photo. The photo had been taken a few months before the battle. They were all at the beach; it was one of the rare occasions where most of the group was together. Even Vector and Vanilla were present.

"This is what we're fighting for, Tails…" she whispered. She wanted to cry, just like him, but both fought back their frustrated tears. Tails took the picture frame from Amy's hands and blew off the dust.

"You know Amy… seven years have gone by, and supposedly only our body has changed. We haven't lived these past seven years, so it shouldn't be possible for us to have matured… but I think we all did…" he said after a long period of silence.

"I think you're right… the events shook us all…"

"Yeah…" the fox walked around the room in silence. He entered the kitchen. It no longer smelled like it used to. Upstairs he entered his room. Seven years ago… he wanted to have finished so many things, things that now were unable to be finished. He hugged his dusty pillow, once more trying to fight back his tears.

Amy who had been patiently waiting in the living room was now leaning against his bedroom's door frame. She didn't know what to say, how to console him when she couldn't console herself.

"I'm being selfish," he finally said.

"Why?" her voice cracked.

"Because I have to be strong… I can't stay in the past…"

He was right. She knew he was right. But she also thought he deserved to feel this way. It was only natural. Because she thought this, his following actions surprised her. He let go of the pillow, and with one longing look around the room stopped in front of her and smiled. A genuine smile. His smile was contagious.

_Everything is going to be alright_.

Amy extended her hand, hoping Tails would take it and allow her to guide him away from his fears. Still smiling, the fox was ready to take her hand when a door downstairs was opened. The front door, he assumed, due to its screech. At first he thought it was probably one of the others coming to check on them, or Roy himself. The heavy footsteps on the wooden floor told him otherwise. Thinking at a rate she was no longer used to, Amy stared into the fox's calm blue eyes. No ideas had popped into her head, all she could do was hope Tails would have one. True enough, he did.

He quietly led Amy deeper into his room and told her to hide behind the wardrobe for one minutes. While she complied, the fox took advantage of the intruder's footsteps to move his dirty book piles from near the bed to near the wardrobe. Where the books had once been a tiny door revealed itself on the floor. It was a secret passage Tails had created when he was young. He never meant it to be used as an escape route; he had only used it when playing hide-and-seek with Sonic. Which explained why the trapdoor wasn't very well hidden. Praying it wouldn't shriek, he opened it. It did shriek, and the heavy footsteps stopped. _Darn. _

Without being told, Amy quietly made her way to the trap door. It was dirty, dusty, and dark. Unfortunately, it seemed like the only way out. Unless they escaped through the window, but they didn't know if anyone was outside.

"Go on Amy, they'll be here any minute! Just follow the path by keeping your right hand always next to the wall. The path will take you to the bottom of the hill. Hopefully no one will be there. I'll follow you in a few minutes," the fox whispered close to her ear. Trying to ignore her fear, Amy stepped in.

The fox still couldn't hear footsteps, which meant whoever was downstairs was immobile, waiting for another sound it could follow. Meaning it wasn't the best idea for him to follow Amy and close the trap door. So, he waited. He waited until the person downstairs began talking.

"Samil, you also heard the screech didn't you? It sounded like a door," a masculine, low voice said. _So it's not a robot… but why are the footsteps so heavy?_

"It probably came from upstairs. Look Mukesh, someone, or something, has definitely been here recently. There are some dust free spots on the floor, and no new dust has accumulated," a metallic voice replied. _So one is a robot, and the other isn't? _

Too curious to withstand it, Tails carefully made his way to the stairs where he could have a glance of the intruders.

"Could've been an animal. That window is opened and there are also dust-free spots near it. Or, some kid came all the way over to the Mystic Ruins, found this house and decided to explore. Ever since that damn documentary based on the Mystic Ruins came out last Sunday teenage kids have wanted to see the place with their own eyes. Luckily no trains pass by this area anymore, and it's been crossed out of the map… but some kid might have gone exploring and ended up here," the first voice explained.

"There is lack of security around this place… which would make sense. His Greatness couldn't care less about this dead land. Come on, let's check upstairs. Once we're done with this yearly checkup we can go back home," the second voice replied.

"I still don't understand why we have these yearly checkups… His Greatness even forgot about this place…"

The two began moving, both had heavy footsteps. When they were close enough to the stairs Tails managed to get a quick glance. _Half human half robot? A human with robotic limbs? So Eggman managed to accomplish this with humans… if he enhanced every human's abilities, even they would be a threat to us! _Before the two beings started going up the stairs, Tails inaudibly made his way to the trapdoor. He was sure those two would notice the door and come after them…but there was no other way out. Luckily, one of the beings began making an awful lot of noise coming up the stairs. Taking advantage of this, Tails quickly used his pillow to spread accumulated dust on the floor in various parts of the room, so the clean spots wouldn't lead to the trapdoor. Then, after memorizing the pattern of their slow footsteps, Tails entered the passage and closed the door exactly when the metal limb connected with the wood. Luckily, the trapdoor didn't screech. _Well, at least something's going right. _

He kept walking forward for a minute or so, when he accidentally bumped into something…soft. _I don't remember having to turn here… Why did I bump into the wall? _The _wall _turned and grabbed his hand. "I was scared and couldn't keep going, so I waited for you here. Sorry Tails…" Amy whispered. The fox couldn't help but notice how close they were, and thanked his younger self for not having included a lighting system inside the passage. The two kept walking in silence until they reached the end of the passage. Hoping no one would be on the other side, the fox opened the door. Sunshine welcomed the two, as did the birds they had seen not so long ago. Tails closed the door behind them and looked around. There was no one in sight.

It was now his turn to extend his hand and take the pink hedgehog to safety, away from her fears. She gladly accepted it, and running at a faster speed than she recollected, both made their way back to the jungle.

* * *

I hope you are enjoying the story. I've decided to add a little romance (heh, I always include some romance in my stories).

Feedback is appreciated! Thank you.


	6. White

Chapter 5-

_Hearts which bind together are stronger than those that do not. _

Two weeks had passed. Daily, Shadow toured around the Mystic Ruins and Tails's workshop. All areas were clear. All members had been undergoing exhaustive training these past two weeks, but improvements were beginning to show.

It was dinner time and the group was silently eating in the kitchen. All of the humans had retired to their bedrooms early, earlier than usual. Tonight the group shared their meal alone, and Knuckles was on cleaning duty.

As they silently ate their portion of Spaghetti Bolognese, Dr. Luke's computer began beeping. It took them two minutes before they noticed the increasing sound coming from the lab. Curious, Tails left his place at the table and ran to the lab. The annoying beeping sound came from the surveillance computer. Dr. Luke had installed surveillance cameras around the base at an 800 meter radius, and if an unknown individual was captured by a camera it would automatically initiate Code Green, which was simply a warning beep from the surveillance computer. If an individual was captured by a second set of cameras placed at a 200 meter radius Code Yellow would initiate, which consisted of a yellow light flashing in all of the base's chambers and a loud warning beeping sound. Code Red, which would initiate if the base's doors were being forced open, worked like Code Yellow, except it revealed a secret escape passageway.

Tails looked closely at the computer. No one was visible in camera one, two or three. He then looked closely at camera four. _Bingo_. Something wearing all black, as an attempt to camouflage in the night, was being filmed by camera four.

Without bothering to grab a coat, although it was cold outside, Tails snatched his glasses from a shelf and began making his way to the door. He swiftly entered the code and the door opened before him.

"Guys I'm going to check out what's going on outside. I won't be long," he yelled before the door closed after him. As he was making his way up the stairs which would lead him to the second door, Sonic ran over to the surveillance computer. Someone had to keep an eye on Tails in case he needed assistance.

In less than a minute the fox was outside. It was chilly and dark due to the jungle's foliage which didn't allow any moonlight to pass. The fox quietly spun his two tails and flew near the ground towards camera four. He landed on a tree branch which luckily granted him a good spying position. He put on his glasses and whispered "nighttime vision, infrared waves". Once the gadget complied, Tails easily spotted the intruder. He was a human male, or so it seemed due to the individual's height and muscular built. He seemed confused, or cautious, due to the constant glances around and behind him. _Is he a scout… someone who got lost… just who is he?_

He considered disguising himself for the first time and confront the individual by acting like a lost boy. This idea was ruled out by the fact that the plan could backfire since apparently no one came down to the Mystic Ruins any longer, let alone enter the jungle. Before he could think of a different plan the man power-walked towards the hidden camera. _This might simply be a coincidence…_ He told himself. Suddenly, the communicator turned on and the fox could hear Shadow's voice.

"Fox, he's heading towards the camera. I think he knows where it is, you have to stop him. Fly behind him and knock him unconscious. If he figures out that there are cameras hidden around he's definitely going to get suspicious."

"But he's a human," Tails whispered.

"It doesn't matter _what _he is! He's our enemy and needs to be put down. Now go!" he heard the hedgehog yell.

Knowing it was for the best, the fox quickly flew behind the enemy, who was only a few meters away from the hidden camera. Before his conscious could catch up with him, Tails hit the man on the neck causing him to fall unconscious. As he saw the man fall to the ground his stomach somersaulted. He had just hurt someone who might not even be an enemy.

"Get back to the base. Knuckles and I are coming outside," Shadow ordered. Feeling weak the fox obeyed. He entered the base without looking back at the man lying on the ground. When he entered the base Sonic ran up to him.

"You okay little buddy?"

"Sonic… I just… I didn't know what to do… he might even be innocent…" Tails stammered.

"You only knocked him unconscious little buddy. He'll be fine," Sonic lied. The hedgehog wasn't comfortable with the event either.

"What are…Knuckles and Shadow…?" he began asking.

"They're going to take the man somewhere and interrogate him once he wakes up. The guy will be blindfolded and tied so there's no reason to be afraid… Why don't you go grab a glass of water and calm down?"

The fox nodded and silently made his way to the kitchen. Espio looked at Sonic. The hedgehog's frown clearly showed his dissatisfaction with the situation. They weren't mentally prepared to go against humans, especially when in the end all these humans were innocent. They were only being used and brainwashed by _him_. Sonic's glasses began vibrating, meaning someone was trying to contact him. He quickly put the glasses on and Knuckles's voice was heard.

"Sonic… the guy's dead. He was unconscious when we found him, but when we tried carrying him a consistent beeping sound was coming from his pocket. Cautious, we stood back. Soon enough… the body exploded… When he fell to the ground the explosive must've been activated. The only thing left was a metallic label with Eggman's logo and the man's mission. Sonic, his mission was to search for anomalies in the Mystic Ruins," the echidna reported.

"Eggman's getting suspicious… this isn't good," he replied.

"We're on our way back to the base."

With Eggman becoming suspicious, the group had less time to act than they had predicted. Training would have to stop; otherwise the group would be too late to act. They had to come up with a plan quickly and act on it. If not this second chance would have been meaningless.  
Once Shadow and Knuckles arrived, Sonic called for a meeting. Tails, who was emotionally exhausted, had fallen asleep with his head on the table, so the blue hedgehog decided to give his friend a rest and let him sleep. At the lab the rest of the group was assembled and waited for the blue hero to start the unofficial meeting.

Sonic briefly explained what had happened to Espio, Rouge and Amy, and after the events sunk in he highlighted the importance of coming up with a plan. He suggested dividing themselves up in three groups. There seemed to be consensus on that suggestion. Espio then brought up the idea of starting with reconnaissance, since it would be foolish to attack without information. The more information they collected the bigger the probability of success. This was immediately agreed on, but when the chameleon pointed out that gathering information could be painfully slow Sonic frowned. He knew gathering information was important, but they all had to act soon or risked being caught and definitely killed. His doubts concerning a possible victory began to rise once more.

"Well, if we divide ourselves into three groups, why don't we give each group a different mission?" Rouge suggested after a few minutes of silence.

"That might work," Knuckles agreed. The blue blur scratched his head. It was doable, if they divided themselves accordingly.

"So if we were to have a group for information gathering…" Sonic began.

"Espio would be in it," Shadow dictated.

"Makes sense. He can turn invisible, which is a plus, he's discrete… but he'd need someone to back him up. Hmm… Knuckles! You two have worked together before. Knuckles is a treasure hunter, he has big fists, a short temper but let's put that aside, and can glide!" Sonic exclaimed.

"What do you guys think?" The pink hedgehog asked.

"Fine by me," Knuckles answered while the chameleon nodded.

The first group was decided. Deciding the second group, which would perform field work, led the group from a smooth conversation to a heated debate. At first Sonic said Tails and himself would take care of the job. This was immediately objected by Shadow. Rouge wasn't happy with her position outside of the action and soon began defending her position. Sonic then put forth the idea of having this group consist of three members. Tails, himself and either Shadow or Rouge. Amy, who felt somewhat excluded, soon began stating that she didn't want to be left out and that she was perfectly capable of being out on the field. While Sonic did acknowledge this, he declared Amy would be more helpful as a "protector". In other words, he saw Amy as protecting the base and healing the wounded. Although this comment hurt Amy's pride, she knew protecting the base and the others was an important role.

When Amy ceded, all that was left to decide was who would be part of the field work team. Shadow, then, brought up a good point. If the third team consisting of Amy and an unknown were to stay in the base, someone stronger than Amy would have to be paired up with her. Not only would that individual be a backup in defense, but could infiltrate the government's websites through the computers in the lab and gather information. That's when Shadow volunteered the two tailed fox for the job. At first Sonic vehemently refused. He wouldn't leave his best buddy behind. Sonic claimed Rouge had spied before for the government, so she should have some knowledge on hacking computers and websites making her a better candidate for the position. Rouge then replied by saying she could be more useful on the field. When Sonic asked why she simply replied: "first because I'm a female and can work undercover, second because while the foxboy's in the lab decoding files I can enter facilities by using my skills and infiltrate them. Having you two boys as bodyguards, of course." Sonic wasn't completely convinced, but he did know that Tails had the potential to be a great help by working at the base decoding documents and hacking his way through the government files.

It hurt the blue hero to make a decision without his best friend present, but in the end a decision was made. Sonic, Shadow and Rouge were the field work team while Amy and Tails were to stay behind at the base.

It was late, so the girls retired to their rooms and soon enough fell asleep. Sonic and Knuckles carried Tails from the kitchen to his mattress, where they lay him down and covered him with a blanket. Each were sung to sleep by their own thoughts.

* * *

The next morning Rouge was the first to wake up. After a quick shower she found herself in need of a walk. The events of yesterday's night were still fresh on her mind. Everyone had been granted the base's code, and no real restrictions had been implemented on them leaving, so Rouge thought it would be alright if she went out for a couple of minutes. She silently made her way from the bedroom to the base's entrance, and with her trained discreetness she slipped outside.

Wind did not welcome her, nor did chirping birds. It was a cold morning and mist disallowed the bat to see three meters ahead of her. She thanked her instinct for grabbing the only sweater she had that morning. Rouge looked around her until she spotted the area where camera four was hidden. Curiosity took over common sense and the ivory bat made her way towards the area. When she was almost reaching it someone pushed her back. Ready to kick the assailant's behind, Rouge twirled back with her foot halfway in the air. The 'assailant' had predicted this move, and stopped her foot with his hand.

"Knuckles?" The bat asked confused. She quickly recomposed herself.

"You don't want to check it out. Nothing might be left of the poor guy, but the blood's still present. Trust me; you don't want to start imagining stuff. It kept me awake all night," the echidna advised. It was true. He had bags under his eyes.

"You're not fit to work today. Get some sleep, echidna," Rouge said. Knuckles responded with a low grunt. "Hey, it was just some friendly advice."

"Sounded more like an order. I'm going back to the base." The echidna turned around and left the ivory bat alone, enveloped by mist. She decided to follow his advice, and walked away from camera four's area.

* * *

Two hours later most began to awaken. Sophie prepared breakfast, which they all ate silently. All except Tulip, that is, who seemed unable to sense the tension in the room. When all had finished except for Tails, who was playing with his toast, and Amy who had been quietly observing him, the pink hedgehog quickly finished her milk and patted Tails's shoulder. With her head she pointed towards the door. If the fox wasn't hungry now he could eat later. Mechanically he cleaned up his plate, and then left the kitchen followed by Amy.

Sitting in a circle around a table were Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, Rouge, Espio, Dr. Luke, Tom and Roy. Amy and Tails joined the circle, the hedgehog already knowing what this meeting was about.

Sonic had already recounted yesterday night's events, and asked everyone to not speak of them in front of Tails. Now that the fox had joined them he was going to inform the humans of their groups. Tails listened silently until the last name had been pronounced. He didn't stir when Sonic informed him of his position. He knew why he had been chosen to stay at the base, and had he not been so emotionally exhausted he would have agreed with this decision, but in his current state the fox couldn't help but feel left behind. He was not Sonic's side-kick in this mission. _Perhaps it's because of the way I acted yesterday… maybe Sonic thinks I'm dangerous or insensitive… that's not true. That's not true!_ The blue hero could sense Tails's distress and insecurity. He wanted to say something, prove that the fox was still his best friend, but he didn't know how he would take it…

"When are you going to start?" Dr. Luke asked after a moment of silence.

"Today. We're starting with the investigation team, Knuckles and Espio. There's not much I can do yet, along with Shadow and Rouge. We have to know exactly what's going on first," Sonic said.

"I agree, but I think it would be pertinent if you three went to the city today anyway. You could look around, get acquainted with the civilian's manners, check out the security system…" Roy advised. The blue hedgehog nodded.

"No fair, I want to see Station Square too!" Amy began complaining.

"Station Square isn't what it used to be. If you want to see the city you have to be mentally prepared to see it," Tom pointed out.

"I know…" she whined.

"Amy, how about you go tomorrow, alright?" Sonic proposed. The pink hedgehog thought about this and agreed.

Amy watched in amazement how her friends changed into humans. The illusion was strong; there was no way for her to know it was all a mask, that they were really standing there unchanged. In fact, if it weren't for their hair color, which was extremely similar to their fur color, Amy would have had a hard time differentiating the boys.

One by one they left the base, each enveloped in their own thoughts. Dr. Luke and Tom returned to their work stations, and Roy went back to his room. The pink hedgehog naively expected to see a grinning Tails by a computer, ready to help his friends through any means possible. When she turned around all she saw was a fox sitting on a chair staring at the back wall.

* * *

_ I had to go back and see it with my own eyes. The place where… but the body was no longer there. I didn't expect it to be, Shadow and Knuckles did say they were going to interrogate the man. Although I expected not to see a body, I didn't expect to see…_

_ Did I do it? Was I the one who caused it? I thought I had only put him unconscious, I didn't want to really hurt him… it was my fault, it must be. Shadow and Knuckles were going to interrogate him somewhere else, right? So if they used violence, which I doubt… but it's everywhere, and randomly! On trees, on the ground… Why? Why did I do it? The man was innocent, of course he was… Even if he were completing a mission assigned to him by Eggman the man was still innocent! It's not his fault, he was brainwashed, must have been… It's not his fault! I shouldn't have done it! It's my fault, my fault, only my—_

A wave of nausea overwhelmed him, causing the horrified fox to bend over. The nervousness was quickly affecting the fox who had managed to sneak out of the base during lunch a few minutes ago. He needed to see the place where it had all happened. Easing his pain had been his goal, but the young fox had only made matters worse.

Unbeknownst to him was the fact that a certain pink hedgehog had followed him at a safe distance and had witnessed his inner turmoil. Trying to suppress a nauseating feeling of her own, she turned around and decided to wait for the fox at the entrance of the base.

* * *

This one took some time to upload! I've been very busy.

Thank you for reading, please review!


	7. Red

Chapter 6-

Espio looked at Knuckles. The gawking illusion was still getting accustomed to his surroundings. He had never been a fan of the city, but this new kind of city was definitely a place he'd want to avoid. You still heard the cars and the occasional chatter, but nothing seemed natural. People seemed to be programmed to walk a certain way, at a certain speed and towards a certain area without side tracks. Smiles were rare, laughter was inexistent. The city looked dead.

Someone bumped into Knuckles by accident. Without even a glance the person kept walking. Predicting Knuckles's next move Espio patted his shoulder and shook his head as if to say 'no use in getting into an argument'.

"But that guy just bumped into me and didn't even apologize," he complained. Espio simply shook his head once more. The two kept walking down the street. Despite Espio's exquisite hair color, a light shade of purple, they didn't draw much attention.

"Where are we going first?" Knuckles asked.

"We're going to locate the government's headquarters. It's too early to infiltrate, so after that we're going to the police."

"Don't tell me you're planning on siding with them to get on the inside…" Knuckles mumbled.

"That would be too risky. You're going in to report a robbery which is going to happen in ten minutes while I go to the backroom and check their files," Espio explained.

"Oh, 'cause that's not risky at all…"

* * *

Another shop. Great_. _Somehow our surveillance tour around the city turned into a tour of the local mall. Correction, it wasn't a tour of the entire mall, only a tour of the female boutiques present at the mall. I couldn't stand seeing all these women trying on clothes, perfumes, make-up…

Rouge showed up with a new handbag. Well, at least she can't change outfits because of her illusion. I looked around for Sonic. Great, he's in the opposite store, a shoe shop, looking at tennis shoes. They clearly don't understand the urgency of the situation.

"That's it. I'm leaving you two here and going off alone," I stated with finality.

"Oh Raven, relax! Azure and I will leave in a second."

"Raven? Azure?"

Rouge nodded. Well of course she can't call me Shadow and can't call him Sonic, but Raven and Azure? Does she want me to call her Red or Scarlet? Using my glasses I connected with Sonic and hissed,

"We're leaving. We don't have time for games."

That stupid hedgehog calmly replied,

"Chill. We're learning by simply being in contact with the other humans. I mean, they do act differently. They're all so stiff!"

I would have been better off if I had been paired up with Amy.

* * *

So the government building is packed with security guards. That was expected, right? How the hell we're ever going to infiltrate it is beyond me. I mean, it's not like we're going to enter it through the sewers or ventilation like in the movies. I really hope Espio comes up with a good plan which doesn't only consist of him getting invisible and me covering his back. I'll be a dead echidna if that happens.

We turned back after receiving a glance from one of the guards outside the door. Man, he looked intimidating with that muscular build. I'd still be able to knock him down though. If only he hadn't two hundred other guys like him guarding this place…

Espio and I began making our way towards the police headquarters. True enough a robbery did occur; I guess Espio had predicted it by observing the assailant. We didn't walk for more than five minutes until the headquarters were in sight. Great, so they're close to the government building. So not only do we have to infiltrate a building with two hundred gorillas guarding it, we also have to deal with the annoying cops who'll get there in three minutes if we're caught. How merry.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied.

"You don't look confident."

"Well no kidding. We'll talk about this later."

"Fine. I'm going to walk into that restaurant and use the bathroom. That way the cameras won't capture my image…" Espio said while walking away. I waved, pretending we were two friends each going his own way. _Alright, let's do this. _I slowly made my way towards the entrance of the building. It was a red-brick building with three floors and what appeared to be training grounds behind it. Soon enough Espio contacted me using his sunglasses.

"I turned invisible in the bathroom. Once someone opens the door to the restaurant I'm leaving. Only open the door when I contact you so we can go in at the same time."

"Got it."

A few seconds went by. I took a deep breath and approached the blue door to the building.

"Alright, open it."

As ordered…_Ordered?! Fine. _Slowly I opened the door. A security guard was standing inside. He stepped aside and let me pass into the reception area. _Here goes…_

"Hello, I would like to report a robbery."

* * *

His troubled visage only deepened my pain. It hurt to see him this miserable. As he approached the base with his eyes downcast I felt anxiety rise. What to do? What to say? I don't know… but I can't let things stay as they are. Can I? Would it be better if I did?

"Amy…" he mumbled. I hadn't noticed how close he was to me until he spoke.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just… getting some fresh air," I lied. It hurt to lie to Tails, but I didn't want him to know that I was following him. He could start thinking I was suspicious of him or something.

"You don't have to lie," he mumbled.

"What?"

"I said that you don't have to lie," he raised his voice. I watched his hand turn into a trembling fist.

"T-Tails…" I whispered. He was now looking at the floor; I was unable to see his eyes… _Do I want to see his eyes? The pain that's probably there?_

When he did look up his eyes showed no pain. A pair of stolid eyes, an image which I won't forget too soon, looked back at me. I would have preferred his face to express pain, insecurity or fear instead of a wall of indifference. _Please don't do this to yourself, Tails… you're so kind natured…_

"It's getting cold. I'm going inside. You can freeze out here if you want."

I didn't reply. Couldn't reply. Why this cold demeanor? We care for him; we want to help him, what happened… it wasn't his fault.

"Or, Amy, you can come in too. I don't bite."

* * *

_It's all archived electronically… I should've guessed. _Invisibly I walked around the back room. It contained two locked computers and only one file cabinet. That's where the few written files were probably kept before they were digitalized. I swiftly opened the cabinet. _Report on a burglary, report on vandalism of John Doe's house, this month's parking ticket's log… these are all minor reports! They must have all the major reports on the computer…_

Although it's not my specialty, I do have some computer skills. I could try to hack into the computer, but I don't know much about modern technology…except for what Dr. Luke taught me a few days ago…

* * *

There he is, scowling again. Gee, Shadow should really try to have a bit more fun. Well, it's not like this atmosphere helps any. Everyone is just so stiff! They were exactly the same way back at the mall. The kids are walking quietly next to their parents, both men and women barely talk, and laughter is simply nonexistent. And where are all the teenagers? School?

We've been walking down the streets for awhile now and nothing seems to change. Sure, the scenery changes, but not the people…

"Hey Azure, you're the one who lived here the longest… is any of this familiar?" Rouge asked. True, I'm the most familiar with Station Square out of the three of us, even though both Rouge and Shadow have lived in the city as well.

"It's a little more… grey and I'm pretty sure the park's gone. The train station used to be near a hotel, the Casino and Twinkle Park, but now it's right by the mall… I wonder if that area still exists," he answered.

"I was wondering about that too. Only one way to find out."

We kept walking, half guessing where we were going. Asking for directions was out of the question. First of all, people didn't look friendly. Second, if those places no longer existed it would look suspicious having someone ask about them. We kept going until… until we reached a very sad part of town.

* * *

Even if this has spyware they can't track me down… but they'll get suspicious. Well, it's too late to think about that now. Let's see… government orders? Sounds interesting. I wonder what the government has ordered the police to do this past month. I quickly read the log, but one specific date stood out. 11/1/xxxx.

9/1/xxxx : Kidnap Jack Hughes

10/1/xxxx: Monthly check-up at SSC's prison

11/1/xxxx : Search the Mystic Ruins for anomalies

I stared at the computer for a few seconds. There were two logical thoughts going through my mind. One, this could be a routine check-up at the Mystic Ruins, or two, someone high up was getting suspicious. Probably Dr. Robotnik. But apart from the incident at Tails's workshop there hadn't been any reason to be suspicious…

_Crap. The guy died and won't come back with a report. Now they'll be suspicious. _

Before I logged off and left the room exactly as it was before, a new entry caught my eye. It had today's date.

12/1/xxxx: Search failed. Locate agent, determine cause of death

_I have to warn the others_.

* * *

What had once been Station Square's train station looked like a refugee camp. In fact, the entire area looked like a refugee camp. Twinkle Park was closed down; the hotel seemed to be falling apart. The casino area was dirty, filled with trash and improvised tents. All the shops, diners, and the casino itself were closed and barred.

Despite all the improvised tents, no one seemed to be living in them. The area was deserted, apart from two passed out men lying on the floor in front of what used to be the train station, and a couple of shadows hiding in the corners. What used to be one of the best parts of town was now a slum. Looking at it was simply depressing. Sonic seemed to agree with me. His eyes betrayed his serious face; I could tell that he was upset.

Shadow kicked an empty bottle of vodka. It rolled down the street until it hit an upturned trash can. If things are this bad here I can't imagine how they'll be at the beach. That's when the three of us got contacted by Knuckles.

"Espio found something. We need to go back to the lab. We're taking the train now. Take the next one, it leaves in forty minutes."

* * *

I had to ask him why he was acting this way. I know it will sound like a stupid question, his strange behavior is due to what happened yesterday, but I want Tails to open up. He's been lying down on his mattress for the past hour, just staring at the ceiling. I wonder what he's thinking, what he's feeling…

We were alone in the lab; it would be the perfect opportunity for us to speak without anyone else present. I observed him. It didn't look like he was going to speak any time soon, and I wondered if he'd even answer my questions. Slowly his head turned to my direction; he must've sensed my stare. Dead-blue eyes stared into mine as I suppressed a shiver.

"Just ask. I know you want to."

He was right. I did want to ask. The only difference was that now I wasn't sure _why _I wanted to ask. Was it for a selfish reason? Did I just want to reassure myself that Tails was alright and wouldn't…hurt me? Or did I genuinely want him to open up because I believe it will make him feel better?

Chuckling, he stood up. Silently his eyes scanned the room until they stopped on me once again. Unable to decipher his behavior, I stood up as well and began walking towards him. He didn't flinch, nor did he avoid my eyes. We stood centimeters away from one another for a few seconds, staring at each other. The reason as for why I had to ask him the question did not matter any longer. Both of us needed to hear it, both the question _and _the answer. So, without glancing away, I asked,

"Why?"

His impassive stare no longer disturbed me. I waited patiently for an answer, but sensing none would come I reinforced my question.

"Why are you acting this way?"

For one single second he looked away. For one single second I saw Tails, our Tails.

"Because there is no other way for me to act," he replied, almost angrily.

"That's not true," I murmured. Soon I'd regret having voiced my opinion.

"How would you know? You weren't the one who attack an innocent and brought death upon him. You aren't the one who'll have to live with this, who will never be forgiven!" His voice steadily increased until he was yelling.

"Tails don't you see? There is nothing to forgive! You've done nothing wrong. What happened was horrible, but it was an accident. If you'd have left the man alone we could've all died! And without us all of the people around us would live in constant agony under Eggman's rule! Can't you see that?" I yelled back.

"Being dead or alive isn't going to change a thing! Do you really think we're going to be able to defeat Eggman? He's practically omnipotent Amy!" he retorted.

For a couple of seconds we stayed silent and looked at one another. Tails didn't react to my lack of response; he didn't even smile in triumph. _He's practically omnipotent_. Tails was right; I could never deny the fact that Eggman currently had the upper hand… but that didn't mean we couldn't- wouldn't- fight back! Even if the probability of us defeating him is low, even if we must go through hell to defeat him, we have to try. Everyone saw this, including Tails in the beginning… so why, why, _why?_

"What happened to your optimism?" I finally responded in a whisper.

"It died yesterday, along with a few other things."

"That's not true. Nothing died yesterday, Tails. You don't have to hide your feelings, be indifferent, pessimistic… no one's judging you, so you can be who you are and no one else. Tails, we both know that this isn't who you are. You're an optimistic, kind, happy and intelligent fox. So please…"

"Amy, stop it. Stop trying to read me. If I want to keep my emotions at bay, let me keep them there. If I want to be indifferent, I'll be indifferent."

There was nothing I could say. I couldn't force him to revert back to his old self… no, Tails was hurt, and he needed time to sooth his pain. So, instead of pressing on as I wanted to, for I couldn't handle having Tails act this way, I decided to give him time and space. I went back to the computer and began absent-mindedly looking at some files while the fox behind me stood staring at my back.

* * *

A very short chapter, but I think it's better to break here and leave the rest for another chapter.

In this chapter I tried to divide in to various points of view. It's just something I was trying out, but usually I will stick to third person.

Thanks for reading, and please review!


	8. Purple

Chapter 7-

_The road might seem tricky and covered by a fog of solitude, but once the heart points in the right direction the fog will disperse and the tricks will be evaded. _

There was no backup plan. Even if the emergency exit was taken the group would have nowhere to go, no second base.

After sharing the information he had discovered back at the police station, Espio expressed the seriousness of the situation at hand. Someone was going to investigate the cause of death of the previous agent. Detonating the bomb must've sent a signal to the government, but the _reason_ behind the detonation, and therefore death of the agent, was unknown. Logically, the government would want to know what lead to the explosion. The explosion had occurred fairly close to the laboratory. If any of the security cameras were discovered it wouldn't take a genius to realize that _someone_ lived nearby. However, taking the cameras down wasn't an option either, since the group had to keep their security measures in case government agents decided to pay them a visit. That was when Amy suggested choosing an emergency base in Tails's workshop.

"Great idea, because robots haven't gone there to check it out and weren't suspicious or anything," Tails scoffed at the idea.

"Have any better idea foxboy? I don't think we can just suddenly build a second base, can we? I mean, that wouldn't be suspicious at all," Rouge retaliated, slightly annoyed at Tails's tone.

"It's currently the only option we have, for a second base, but Tails is right. They have been suspicious," Sonic stated.

"Besides, how would we carry things such as computers to his workshop without being seen? And connect them, get electricity, water—"

"We get it Knuckles. How about this, we keep all the electronic things here. We'll only take food, sleeping bags and whatever else is crucial. Only two of us, and the humans, move to the workshop while the others stay here and guard the lab. If we have to fight against a bunch of government agents, then so be it. Meanwhile the others set up the workshop in case we have to run for safety. If we have to leave behind books, computers and so on and escape to the workshop, we will," Rouge interrupted.

"That could work… and Tails could go to the workshop. He could work on projects, weapons, use a laptop, and find a way to power-up the house…" Sonic added.

"That would be great and all if one: I agreed to work on projects, weapons and so on, and two: if I had a Chaos Emerald to use as an energy source. Since the emeralds are gone I'd have to use electricity… and that would mean getting caught." The group stood silent for awhile. They hadn't expected Tails to be apathetic. Espio looked up at Dr. Luke, hoping to find a solution, so he asked,

"How is the lab powered up?"

"Through the energy from the river with its strong current, solar power and wind energy. I managed to install all three types of energy before the lab became a hideout, before Dr. Robotnik took over. Ah… back when this was only a lab, a place where I studied…"

They knew that solar power and wind power were out of the question. They couldn't suddenly build solar panels on the roof of the workshop without being caught, nor could they build wind turbines. Rouge glared at Knuckles, for she knew that another option was available… when Knuckles understood he was being glared at, he turned to the female bat and mumbled,

"There's no way you're going to take the Master Emerald from its secure hiding place and use it as a source of energy."

Unluckily for him, Roy heard what the echidna had mumbled.

"Why not? Using the Master Emerald is certainly an option. It would be a great source of energy. Besides, if we took it to the workshop the emerald would be safe since we'd be guarding it," Roy said.

"Oh, right, the emerald is a lot safer at the workshop. Are you kidding? If they find out we're hiding at the workshop and barge in they could take the emerald! The Master Emerald's hiding place is _perfect_ right now, I don't want to risk getting it stolen," Knuckles barked.

"Dude, chill… Look, it's our best option right now. Having Tails's workshop as a second base, and having the Master Emerald as our energy supplier. It wouldn't be suspicious, it would give us huge amounts of energy, and someone could protect it. And _if _it does get stolen or scattered to pieces, well then you'll do what you do best and have done more than once. You'll look for the Master Emerald pieces and complete the emerald," the blue hedgehog intervened.

"It's not that simple, and it's a risk! What if Eggman steals it and destroys it like he destroyed the Chaos Emeralds huh? What'd we do then?"

"Then we'll protect it with our lives, we won't allow him to take it! We have to take risks if we want this to work… no one said it was going to be easy."

His purple irises stared at the ceiling. Without blinking he simply stared. _Desperate times call for desperate measures huh? What is this, some kind of movie?_ The plan was flawed, the probability of everyone remaining unharmed diminished, it was all ridiculous. _Could we be fighting a war we cannot possibly win? _An unsatisfied groan left his lips as he turned his gaze back to the person sitting in front of him, Roy. Knuckles's silent nod spoke for him; the Master Emerald could be used, he was giving his consent.

"Alright, now who's staying and who's going?" Sonic asked aloud.

Knuckles stood up, mumbled something about staying behind and protecting the base, and left. They all knew where he was going. Choosing the groups was fairly easy since no one - apart from a rather uncooperative Tails – objected to the plan. Sonic, Shadow, Rouge, Roy and Doctor Luke were to stay behind at the base along with Knuckles when he returned. Together they would protect the base and control any outside activity. The others, Amy, Tails, Tom, Jason, Tulip and Sophie, were to gather the most crucial objects around the base and move out to the workshop as quickly as possible. It was late afternoon, and in the worst case scenario they would arrive at the workshop by eleven pm.

* * *

After a few hours of swift packing, all the items had been gathered and were ready to be transported. Sophie brought up the biggest issue: food. There was no functional refrigerator at the workshop, and it could take Tails a while to get it working, so the food could get spoiled. Plus, if they were to stay in hiding for a longer time period than expected running out of food and drinkable water could be a possibility. Sonic offered to pass by the workshop with food once the refrigerator was working, but he would be needed at the base if something went wrong, and he couldn't afford getting caught. That was when Tails's comment surprised everyone in the room.

"I might not like the plan, in fact I think it's ridiculous, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to help…somewhat. I can fix a stupid refrigerator in less than an hour you know? It isn't rocket science. Besides, the only reason why it's not working is probably because there's no electricity in the house. Never thought of that?"

_He wants to help…_ Amy finished closing a box and looked at the fox standing across the room near one of the desks. Maybe, just maybe, he was starting to heal. Or was it too soon? Before Tails could notice her looking at him she turned her gaze to Sophie and asked her to take the lightest boxes. Jason was already carrying the heaviest; Tulip and Amy could handle the rest, even if Tails did not offer to help.

"One hour 'till eleven… Amy, Tails, don't forget your glasses," Sonic said.

The pink hedgehog nodded and put on her glasses. In three seconds the hedgehog was substituted by an illusion, a human. The fox quickly followed.

"Hey Prower," the ebony hedgehog called. Tails faced him, an eyebrow perked up. "Taking one of the boxes won't kill you."

"No kidding. I didn't need you to tell me that. I was going to carry one anyway. Amy hand me you heaviest box," he demanded. Amy wanted to yell no, she didn't want to be ordered around, but she didn't. She angrily passed him the box, hoping he would get her message.

The group silently left the base. No goodbyes were shared since no one truly believed this was goodbye, it was more of an 'I'll see you later'. Trekking through the jungle with heavy boxes proved to be fatiguing. Tails couldn't fly since he had to keep up with his group and he didn't know how his illusion would look if he suddenly started flying. Probably nothing good would come out of it, so with a couple of groans he kept walking in front, leading the way.

They didn't encounter any agents or robots along the way, but just to be safe and less exposed they took Tails's secret passage at the bottom of the hill. Soon enough it would lead them to Tails's room.

"You guys sure took your time. I've been waiting for you here for almost three hours," Knuckles complained. He was sitting on Tails's dusty bed with the Master Emerald shinning next to him. "I already closed all of the shutters, good thing they're nice and solid. That way when you light up the house and stuff you can't tell from the outside."

"I could've done that myself."

"Listen Prower, don't give me that new attitude of yours or your face will meet my fist!" the echidna barked.

"Boys calm down. Knuckles, Tails, you two go figure out a way to use the emerald to power up the house. Meanwhile we'll use flashlights and unpack," Amy whispered. Tails took off his glasses, breaking the illusion, and signaled Knuckles to follow him downstairs with the emerald.

Sighing, Sophie looked around. If they were going to make this place inhabitable a lot of cleaning up would have to be done, and they couldn't even open the windows to let the house breathe. Not during the day anyway, and certainly not tonight while Tails was trying to power up the house.

* * *

After half an hour of scrawling in his studio and an hour of rummaging in the basement and garage, Tails was prepared to transfer some of the Master Emerald's energy into the house as electricity. Thanks to his knowledge of the Master Emerald, since he had studied the curious gem years ago, he was able to create an improvised volt controller, that way the energy used could be controlled. The emerald was strategically placed in the lower garage. Tails's workshop had two garages, one on the ground floor where the original Tornado rested and most of his gadgets were found, and a 'secret' underground garage where the Tornado 4 was kept. The underground garage had a runway of its own, since it was located on a cliff, and the door which connected the garage and runway with the air was camouflaged by a waterfall. It was the perfect place to keep the emerald, because in case of an emergency Tails could strap the emerald onto the airplane and fly off with it. All he had to do was make sure he could wire everything properly, and the house would finally have some light.

Before Tails even began creating an improvised volt controller, Knuckles warned him that he was leaving. He thought the emerald would be safe, given the conditions, in the underground garage where he had placed it after the fox told him to, so there was no need for the echidna to stick around. Before he left though, he asked Amy to turn on the laptop they brought along. It was fully charged and could last three hours; hopefully Tails would have everything ready minutes before the battery ended. Amy nodded; keeping contact with the other group was crucial, and through Doctor Luke's extra portable internet stick, which was protected so it couldn't be traced and the laptop using it couldn't be located, the two groups could keep in contact.

An hour after the echidna left the improvised volt controller was completed, wiring the house and getting electricity to flow was the next step. Amy, Sophie and Tulip were busy cleaning up the house- or at least trying to make it inhabitable. Tom and Jason were unpacking and occasionally helped the girls. The girls were taking a break in the living room when the two tailed fox came in, dust hanging on to his clothes. He glanced at them, took a closer look to their tired eyes. Then, looking away from them, he advised them to get some rest.

"That's what we're doing right now, can't you see? We're resting," Tulip replied a little too dryly for Tails's taste.

"I meant get some _real _rest. Go to sleep," he ordered her. Slightly offended, the girl decided to hang on to her attitude.

"Fine, I will. Have fun working," she said as she got up and left the room. _Boy, attitude problem? _

"I would like to apologize on behalf of my daughter. When she's sleepy she gets a little attitude… I'm sorry."

"Leave it. Go to bed too. Both of you."

_He does care…_Amy's thought brought a small smile upon her lips. She got up first, hoping this would encourage Sophie to do the same.

"We'll tell the others to get some rest too. You should go to sleep soon as well, you can work on that tomorrow," Sophie said.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Tails? When you go down to the garage again, bring the laptop. It only has an hour and a half left, but just take it and leave it on, please," Amy asked. The fox did look at her now and nodded. She left the room, followed by Sophie, leaving the fox alone. _Alright… now to get back to work. _

* * *

He wanted to smash that piece of technology. Satisfaction would surely come with seeing that annoying thing broken into pieces. That annoying, high pitched beep was definitely going to drive him mad. He had endured it for three minutes without anger, but now at seven minutes that irritating beep which came at constant intervals was provoking him. 'Through me against the wall', 'destroy me' it seemed to say. So why didn't he just turn off the stupid thing? It was communicating with him, warning him that battery was low and it would soon turn off. So why not simply turn it off? Because the battery wasn't dead yet, and she had asked… '_but just take it and leave it on, please'_. It's not like at the last minute before the laptop went dead the others were going to email him, right? So he could just turn it off, end this bothersome torment, and focus on his work. But she had asked.

_Beep_.

"Aw shut up!" he yelled as he turned around and stared at the computer.

_Beep._

"Alright that's it, I'm turning you off!" _Please_. His hand stopped in midair. He was ready to click that one button which would stop the irritating beeping sound, but he remembered her voice. It was a normal request, and she wouldn't be mad if he turned off the computer. He was sure of that, but still… "Why am I making such a big deal out of this? This is ridiculous…"

_Beep. Beep. _

One minute remained.

_Beep_.

"Just shut up already," he hissed impatiently.

"Talking to the laptop I see… the beeping is seriously getting to you."

Tails turned around to see Amy in her orange pajamas and a glass of water in her hand. He cast her a questioning look before he looked back at the laptop which was now ending its last, long, beep.

"Finally…"

"It's kind of dark in here, even though you have three flashlights hanging from the ceiling," Amy observed.

"Why are you still awake and why are you here?" he asked as he turned back to the Master Emerald.

"I couldn't sleep. I went to your room and didn't see you there so I figured you were still awake. I thought that working down here must be rather lonesome, so I came down for a visit and brought a present. Want some water?"

"Yeah," he answered as he took the cup from her. After gulping down the somewhat warm water he gave her back the cup. Thinking that if he focused on his work and ignored her she'd go away, he did just that, but after ten minutes he gave up and looked at her.

"Why are you still here?"

Amy shrugged. She couldn't tell him why, he'd just scoff and isolate himself even more. _I'm here because I don't think you want to be lonely. You just want to be accepted, you want to forgive yourself and you want others to forgive you. We did forgive you, I mean, there was nothing to forgive. It wasn't your fault. It's not because of you that we're in this situation… _

"No answer. Well, I'll be done in a couple of minutes. If you want to just stand there, be my guest," he said while he watched her through the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but think that she looked cute in her pajamas, and something about her not leaving made him feel lighter, maybe even happier.

The pink hedgehog smiled. At least he wasn't ordering her to leave. Silently she watched him work. She admired his agile hands, his intelligence and creativity. His actions made sense to her. Why he wanted to help with the plan, why he was willing to stay awake, even though he was tired as could be seen in his eyes, just so in the morning the house could be lit up, why he would protect them. _Forgiving and forgetting, that's all he wants… If only he could see._ She moved closer to him so she could see exactly what he was doing.

"And I think I'm done. I'm going to press this button over here and it should work," he said after awhile.

"Great! I'm going to turn off the flashlights."

After turning off the last flashlight Tails pressed the button. A couple of seconds went by and nothing happened.

"Amy turn on one of the flashlights. It didn't work."

"Wait, maybe you didn't press it hard enough. Let me try," she replied as she tried to make her way towards Tails.

"Just turn on one of the flashlights, I can't see a thing,"

"I can remember the path, one second and I'll be right—" the pink hedgehog tripped on something but quickly regained her balance. "Ha, thought I was going to fall huh?"

"Amy…" the fox got up thinking he'd have to turn on the flashlight himself. As he was making his way towards one of the flashlights- or where he thought there would be one- his hand brushed against something soft. "Amy?"

"Yeah, sorry, that was my arm," the two stopped walking; they didn't want to bump into one another and fall. Then they'd never orient themselves and find a flashlight.

"I'll walk towards the right and you the left, that way we won't bump into each other," he whispered.

"Yeah…" she whispered back.

Yet the two did not move. Abruptly Tails grabbed her arm, the one he had touched, pulled her towards him. Wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace he smiled into the darkness. She didn't have to say anything; all she had to do was wrap her arms around him. He knew she had forgiven him; he seemed to be accepting that truth. Both knew the embrace meant more than just the acceptance of truth, but they ignored it. They ignored their inner feelings. There was no time for them. No time for attraction, for affection.

_To hell with those thoughts_. Tails's lips briefly touched hers. He wondered if she was blushing, if she looked shocked, happy, relaxed. A few minutes ago his cold demeanor had been shaken. He knew _something_ was up. The way he followed her simple request, how he found her attractive even in her pajamas, how since the beginning of this entire ordeal he had appreciated her company and their proximity. The thought of him liking the pink hedgehog hadn't crossed his mind; he thought she was simply a very close friend. But this moment, his want to embrace her, this sudden tension- but a good tension –was starting to prove him otherwise. His lips found hers again, she did not reject them. Tails thought that the first time, when he briefly kissed her, she could have allowed it simply because she was shocked. Not anymore. It was a simple kiss, a touch on the lips, but it lasted longer, and she had allowed it.

_There isn0t time to get involved_. The thought resounded in his head. He needed to let go of her, get back on task. There wasn't time for this, both of them knew it. _Later… once we save the world_, part of him said. _If we save the world…_Slowly he let go of her and stepped back. With his hands in the air he said, "we should look for a flashlight," and he used his hands to look for something hanging from the ceiling.

Amy walked back and did the same. After two quiet minutes of searching Amy finally found a flashlight and turned it on. She suppressed a giggle, Tails was almost walking into a wall.

"I should get back to work… and you should go to bed."

"Want me to keep you company?" _Please say yes._

"I'll be fine."

The pink hedgehog smiled, but her head was low and her eyes were now glued to the ground. She mumbled something before she turned her back and made her way out of the garage. Tails looked at her leave, part of him yelling at him for allowing her to leave and the other, logical, part congratulating him for finally getting back to work.

"She's upset…" he mumbled. _No kidding. You two just shared a lovey-dovey moment and you basically tell her to leave. Of course she's upset. _

"I had to…" he tried to excuse himself. _No you didn't. You say you don't have time for these things but you do. Both of you know what's at stake, both of you need to fight, protect, live. And part of living is having feelings and following them. If something happened between you two it wouldn't be the end of the world. _

"We can't afford to get distracted," he argued. _Excuses. And just to screw you over I bet that if you click that button now the power is going to work._

"Oh shut up!" He knew how ridiculous he sounded, fighting with himself. He looked back at where Amy had been standing minutes ago, she was gone.

"Damn it," he said and clicked the button with more force than before. The power did work, and after cursing again Tails turned off the flashlights and made his way upstairs.

* * *

AN: Finally finished this chapter, sorry it took so long. So I finally added some Tails x Amy into this! It might be a little sappy but... I'm okay with it. We'll see how it goes from here!

Thank you for reading!


	9. Courage

Chapter 8-

"_Open your heart and you'll see…open your heart, it's gonna be alright." _

They hadn't received an email, the others hadn't contacted them. That meant that they were either safe or heavily under attack. Tails went with the first hypothesis. He carefully placed the laptop on the ground; he was going to leave it on the entire night in case someone tried to contact them.

Exhausted, he lay down in bed, stomach up. He had missed the comfort of his own bed, his own pillow, his own house. Yet even though he was exhausted and fairly comfortable, his eyes remained staring at the ceiling, refusing to close for more than two milliseconds. He replayed that night's events over and over in his mind, sometimes even allowing his mind to imagine different scenarios.

Imagining is a dangerous thing. It captures your innermost feelings, even if you are not completely aware of them, and creates scenarios which would soothe those feelings. Tails cared for Amy, he had never denied that. They were close friends, and although she tended to be a little dramatic he enjoyed her company. He had missed the little signals, hadn't realized certain feelings had been awakened. Now these feelings were as transparent as water to imagination, so imagination put its magic to work.

The young fox imagined he had asked Amy to stay, keep him company. He imagined her standing next to him, watching him work, and when he was done she would hug him with admiration. Reality pushed this scenario away, and for a few minutes imagination stayed put… until she created yet another scenario. Both fox and hedgehog were sitting under a palm tree enjoying the shade, for it was a warm day. The entire mess with Eggman had been cleared, once more they had come out victorious and peace was restored. The pink hedgehog coyly rested her head on the fox's shoulder. A smile bloomed on both tranquil faces. They were enjoying their serene time alone. At this scenario, Tails sat up. _What if after what happened today we don't talk or hangout like we used to? What if things become awkward between us? Did I push her away? If I did… then after this mess – if we come out of it alive – then we will never sit under a palm tree and enjoy each other's company!_ _Why does that annoy me so much…? _The pink hedgehog had managed to melt some of the ice away, since the fox was now a little more optimistic. He believed there was a small chance for victory, and if they won then maybe he would be able to be with her.

"Maybe…No. I can't. I'll just end up hurting her in the long run, or hurting myself. Our mission is dangerous, Eggman is much stronger… I have to be realistic. There is no time for feelings."

_Do you really believe that?_

"Yes."

_What if you lose her because of the decision you're making now?_

"It doesn't matter."

_If you say so_.

"Damn it!"

He forced his eyes shut, hoping he would fall asleep soon and forget all about that day and her. It was useless, as he had expected it to be. Giving up, he decided to stare at the ceiling until he fell asleep, which only happened an hour later.

* * *

The computer's hysterical beeping woke the sleepy fox from his slumber. Slightly disoriented, he left his now warm bed and sat down on the floor in front of the noisy computer. First he clicked mute, then he waited for the ringing in his ears to subside. When he felt like he could open his eyes without having a headache due to the high-pitched beeping which had awakened him, he'd open them. Until then he'd wait, for it would be pointless to read anything on the computer screen if all his attention was focused on the pain. After a minute had gone by the fox opened his eyes and stared at the computer screen. He would regret having wasted a minute.

"Crap."

Swiftly, he ran downstairs with the laptop. After searching for paper and writing utensils for thirty seconds, and finding himself empty handed, he opened a blank page on the computer and in large caps lock letters wrote "GONE TO THE BASE- TROUBLE. AMY STAY AND DEFEND. TAILS". He placed the laptop strategically on the table facing the staircase, he was sure someone would see it. He checked his pockets for his glasses, thanking himself for having fallen asleep with his clothes on. _Alright… now where did I store those small practice bombs all those years ago... _Like an epiphany, he remembered where those bombs and other small weapons were stored. He ran into the kitchen and opened a small cupboard where he found a box with _dangerous_ written on it. Carefully, he took two small metallic spheres from it and put them in his empty pocket. His heart kept pumping blood which flowed around his body with urgency, and feeling like there was no time to waste he hurriedly made his way to the door and ran. He knew he was out in the open, but he didn't have time to be discreet. _Stop. She's in there. _Tails slowed his pace. _What if it's the last time you see her? _

"I don't have time for this."

The agile fox prepared to lift off using his two tails as propellers, but the fear of his own question stopped him. _It'll only be a minute. _In less than thirty seconds he found himself in the house again. Sonic would definitely be proud of his timing, the foxboy was improving. He went up the stairs, skipping two steps at a time, and made his way into her room. Quietly now, as to not wake her up, he opened the door. _I shouldn't be here. I'm invading her privacy and…_ his thoughts were lost for a moment as he saw her fast asleep, with one hand over the covers of her bed. He was now next to her bed, only a few centimeters away from touching any part of her body. He had a sudden urge to kiss her forehead, but fought it. Instead he placed his hand on top of hers and gently caressed it. Although he wanted to smile he did not, his blood still reminded him of the urgency of the situation. Hesitantly, he brought his hand back to his side. _I have to fly extra fast. _So he did.

* * *

The base would soon be surrounded. Espio and Dr. Luke had watched the cameras attentively and could see the agents-or whatever they were- approach the base. The alarms had been turned off; there was no use for them at the moment. Espio saw as the agents looked around, took in their surroundings and searched for clues. When the first security camera had been discovered they knew it would only be a matter of time. Every time a camera was found the agents sprayed black spray paint on them. Sonic immediately wanted to go out and take care of the intruders, but Roy told him that was unwise. If anyone left the base they would hear the doors opening and attack. Sonic, Knuckles and Rouge sat in a circle discussing defensive and offensive strategies; they had to come up with something quick. In a couple of minutes someone was bound to find the entrance. Shadow nonchalantly rested his back against the wall and watched the small group arguing. Sensing his snicker Rouge looked up at the ebony hedgehog and snapped.

"You know, instead of resting over there and laughing at us you could very well help us and share your wonderful ideas, oh wise one. We don't have time for this! We should've acted sooner, but we were distracted. Instead of discussing ways to find Eggman we should've prepared for this. So stop your snickering, hedgehog, and get over here and help!"

"This amuses me. I have helped, far more than any of you three. While Sonic was flirting with the idea of leaving the base and attacking, I had already acted upon _my _idea. The moment Espio warned us that one of the cameras had been discovered I used one of the laptops and sent a message to a certain fox. He'll distract them."

"You came up with that all on your own?" Rouge asked sarcastically.

"No, it is not a brilliant idea. Distractions are a common strategy, which is why any of you three should have thought about it."

"Are you calling us dumb?" Knuckles barked.

"Hey, cool it Knuckle-head. We don't have time for this. Alright, so Tails will provide us with a distraction. And then?" Sonic said.

"By leading the enemy to another part of the jungle he's giving us the opportunity to leave the base because now they won't hear us. _Then _we can attack them."

"Right, right… Brilliant plan. What if someone stays behind?" Knuckles asked with some unpleasantness.

"Do I have to explain _everything_? It's easier fighting off three than twenty. Besides, there's one pair of unused glasses in a drawer that will come in quite handy."

"I see what you're getting to. One of us, preferably Espio, can use these glasses to mask himself as one of them. Espio's seen them because of the security cameras so he can pull it off. He could be the first to leave the base and attack them. They won't suspect him because he looks like them. Then we follow. Sounds good," Rouge explained.

Sonic nodded in approval and put on his glasses. It had been some time since Espio had warned them about the camera. The agents had reached the second set of cameras, meaning they were only about 200 meters away, or less, from the entrance of the base. Tails had yet to contact them, making Sonic slightly nervous. _Come on little buddy. _

_

* * *

_

_Come on, faster. Just a bit faster. _Tails repeated this thought as if it were a mantra. He could see the jungle and the lonely ruins from where he was. It would only take a couple more minutes to reach the area where he could drop the bomb. Briskly, he put on his glasses. It was time to warn the others that he would soon commence the distraction.

* * *

Something felt wrong. There had been a sudden surge of warmth, but it had left as quickly as it had come. She searched for that warmth in vain. _It's not coming back._ That thought thundered in her head, waking her up aggressively. _I want that warmth back_. Confused and frightened, Amy left her bed and walked aimlessly around her room. After having decided that a cup of water would calm her nerved, she started to make her way downstairs.

Maybe she should've stayed up in her room.

* * *

Despite its small size, the bomb exploded ferociously_. Sometimes the smaller things are what cause the most damage_. After ten seconds he dropped the second bomb, which exploded with as much force as the first. _Work. Please work. _

_

* * *

_

"Only five soldiers seemed to have left. Do we still carry out our plan?" Knuckles asked. They were all staring at the cameras, hoping their plan would work. Espio had been quickly briefed on his 'mission' and was holding the extra pair of glasses.

"We should contact Tails. Ask him if he has any more bombs. If he doesn't…we'll have to risk it. We'll stick to the plan," Sonic said.

"There's no point in contacting him, he told us he only had two bombs when he first contacted us. There's nothing he can do now," Shadow pointed out.

"There are only five left. We can take them out."

"Yes, but something about the total number is off…" Espio remarked.

"What do you mean?"

"They're ten. Ten agents, or soldiers, or spies…whatever they are. Ten. Were they expecting conflict? Is this a reconnaissance mission? If so, why so many? Are they afraid or being cautious? And now with the distraction… they'll know for sure that something is going on in the jungle… what if they have backup stationed somewhere?"

"He's right."

"It doesn't matter if he's right. Whether we beat them or we don't they now know something's up, so we might as well beat them," Knuckles said.

They all kept looking at the screen, hoping that something would answer their questions.

"Alright, I'm moving out. Be ready to follow," Espio announced.

Before anyone could say anything else he turned invisible. All they heard was the first door opening and closing behind the chameleon. Soon he'd be outside.

* * *

_Are they alright? Do they need assistance? Did Tails make in time? I should go. They might need me. I have to go._

"No. Tails asked me to stay…"

_More like ordered._

"He just wants us all to be safe…"

_I want to go. Please… come back before I do something stupid._

_

* * *

_

_Did it work? _

"Shadow, come in."

_Nothing_.

"Shadow, can you hear me?"

_Have they been attacked?_

"Sonic? Knuckles?"

_Maybe I should go down there. _

_

* * *

_

"There's only one more left!" Rouge shouted at the top of her lungs.

"No problem, I got him!" Sonic replied. He dashed towards the retreating agent and homing attacked him. The agent seemed unmoved by this attack. Sonic tried again, but once more the agent did not fall, he simply kept running as if nothing had touched him.

"Hey Blue, what's going on?" Rouge asked.

Before Sonic could answer he saw Knuckles glide towards the soldier. The red echidna landed a perfect punch on the agent's legs, causing him to collapse.

"I didn't punch flesh. It's metal. This guy isn't human," the echidna stated as he stood next to the fallen agent. He looked at the helmet the agent was wearing, it covered his entire face.

"Take it off, Knuckles."

The echidna nodded and did just that. Under the helmet was a metal sphere with a small lens in the middle where a nose would be. _What the…?_

"It's a camera," Rouge pointed out, her voice slightly trembling. Knuckles immediately punched the lens.

"We should ask Tails to analyze this."

"Speaking of which, here he comes flying," Knuckles said as he pointed at the flying fox.

"The idiot isn't camouflaged," Shadow mumbled.

Tails came closer and closer until he landed next to Sonic. The blue blur pointed at the fallen agent and with a glace Tails knew what they all wanted him to do. He nodded and began picking up the scrap of metal. He was going to take it back to his workshop and analyze it.

"What happened to the other agents?" Rouge asked.

"I only waited ten seconds, so I doubt the second bomb hit any of them. I tried looking for them after the smoke settled, but I didn't find one. You should scout the area. Even if they have escaped it doesn't matter. Their superiors would be suspicious if their agents had vanished, so other agents or robots would be sent anyway."

"True, but it would be five less people to worry about."

"Our goal here isn't to kill innocents, because in the end that is what they are. Or what I think they are. If entire populations hadn't been brainwashed…" the fox started reproaching.

"Calm down little buddy. Are Amy and the others safe?" Sonic asked.

_Amy_.

"They should be. I'm going to head back now."

Without another word the fox kicked off with the robot and flew towards the entrance of the jungle, leaving his friends…or allies… behind. Sonic and Shadow had decided to scout the area while the others headed back to the base. If they were planning on staying at the base, security would have to be reinforced. However, if was time to take an offensive stance as well. Eggman had to pay.

* * *

She was sitting on the steps outside the workshop. It didn't matter if anyone passed by. It didn't matter if she wasn't camouflaged. All that mattered was that Tails would be coming back and she'd be able to see him from there. See him come back safe. _Why does it matter that much? _

"Because he's my friend. A very close friend."

_Is that it? _

"What else could it be…"

_Open your heart and you'll know. And so will he. _

"I wonder if that's true…"

She wanted to keep looking up, search the dark but starry sky for him, but her head felt heavy. A few seconds wouldn't hurt… she let her head rest against the palms of her gloved hands, and silently waited for the yellow fox.

"I should've added everything will be alright to the note I left behind. Then maybe you wouldn't have stayed outside in the cold. And you wouldn't be outside completely unguarded and risking our identity."

Amy briskly stood up and looked behind her. The fox stood behind her with something under his arm. They stared at each other's eyes for a second, until Amy sighed of relief. _He isn't smiling, but he also isn't hurt_.

"This is a camera in disguise of a human, in case you were wondering," He said as he placed it down on the side.

"What happened?" Amy managed to ask.

"The base was surrounded by agents, spies…whatever they were. They know someone is in the jungle, so presumably they were sent there to investigate the situation. The others couldn't leave the base without being discovered, so they were trapped…which was why I was sent to create a diversion. Everyone is fine," he quickly related.

"But that means we're being investigated… not that they know who we are… we need to be careful."

"Yes, which is why you shouldn't be outside," Tails reprimanded. Yet, although he had criticized her actions he hadn't led her inside the moment he arrived.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he whispered. Those words comforted her. _He no longer seems bitter like before._

"Maybe we should go back inside? You probably want to analyze that thing straight away."

"I can spare a few minutes."

Amy wanted to smile but couldn't. She was confused by his words. Some hours ago it looked like he didn't want her near him and now, now he could _spare her a few minutes_. _But that kiss… maybe he does want to spend time with me? _

"I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have kissed you, nor should I have indirectly asked you to leave. I invaded your personal space and I was rude," he apologized, but part of his apology didn't seem honest.

_Are you really apologizing for having kissed her? It's something you wanted; you don't feel sorry for having done it. _

"Yes I do," he mumbled.

"What? I didn't catch that."

"Nothing. Just, sorry.

"You don't have to apologize… if you wanted me to leave it was because I was annoying you. So I'm the one who has to apologize."

"No, you don't. You really don't."

_Why is this so hard? Why can't I ignore all of this and just move on and work, focus on saving the world, goddamn it? _

"Will you touch my hand?" Amy asked abruptly.

"What?"

"Will you touch my hand?"

Tails looked suspiciously at her. What could she possibly want? Her eyes kept asking him to do it, and he couldn't ignore the request. He grabbed her hand and held it for a moment, then let go.

"You were the warmth."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You were the warmth in my room that suddenly came and just as suddenly disappeared. I felt it."

_Did you? _

"Oh…"

It seemed like nothing else was going to be said, but more had to be said. Both had to speak their minds before it got too late. Unnecessary tension had to be avoided as well as unnecessary conflicts and distractions. What the strange thing happening between them was classified under as was unknown to the two-tailed fox at the time.

"Amy… we need to focus on the battle. Our lives and the lives of millions of people are at stake," Tails began.

"I'm fully aware of that."

"So… we can't have conflict or…or distractions."

"What do you mean?"

"Like… what happened…"

"Say it."

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Say it," Amy pressed on.

"Stop being a kid, why are you acting like this?"

"Say it Tails! Like when you kissed me?" Amy growled.

"Hey, wait a minute. I admit I did kiss you the first time, but the second… it was mutual, you wanted it too!" Tails retorted. Amy stayed quiet and stared at him. What he had said was true and both knew it.

"So at least you admit it. It _is _mutual. Whatever this is," Amy whispered, now that she was a bit calmer.

"What is this?" He asked softly.

"I'm not sure. I thought you were a close friend—"

"I am."

"Yes but…

"There might be more than that?"

"Yes. But you don't want a _distraction_. Maybe it's best if we're not paired up. In the morning we should talk to the others and rearrange this," Amy suggested, slightly hurt.

"Alright."

"Well then, if you have nothing left to say," Amy snapped. _Why is she this mad all of the sudden? She's the one that suggested not being paired up! I just agreed, it's logical. _Before he could ask anything, the pink hedgehog walked past him and opened the front door.

"You wouldn't be a distraction," Tails whispered, "you'd be everything."

Either Amy decided to ignore what the fox had said or she hadn't heard him, for she kept walking away and let the door close behind her.

* * *

Took a long time to upload, sorry about that!

So here is the next chapter, and there is more Tails x Amy going on.

"_Open your heart and you'll see…open your heart, it's gonna be alright."- Open Your Heart, Crush 40, Sonic Adventure  
_

What do you think of it so far?

Thank you for reading!


	10. Faith

Chapter 9-

"Why does she have to be so difficult?" The fox sighed. _Did she not hear what I said? _Confused, and perhaps a little hurt, Tails picked up the scrap of metal and went back inside. He figured that if he stayed up analyzing it his mind wouldn't focus on Amy.

* * *

It was noon when the exhausted fox woke up. Groggily, he took in his surroundings as he wondered why his left cheek ached so much. He had fallen asleep in his garage on top of his tools. At first he lectured himself for falling asleep, but then calmed down when he saw the results of his work. He carefully looked at the notes he jotted down last night and the chip he had uncovered. Eggman's logo was engraved on it, just like it had been so many times in the past. _Some things never change…_ the robot did include a camera but it was meant to record the video onto a CD, it was not sending live feedback to a source. This meant the source couldn't be traced back, but it also meant that Eggman had no way of identifying the illusions, so they could be used again. No other recordings had been made. No other information was in the chip. _No new information available… _

He decided to send a quick message to the others with what he had discovered. He'd let them plan out their next move; he didn't have the energy to deal with that now. They'd probably consider the idea of infiltrating the government building, although he wasn't sure how they'd be able to pull that off.

Tails' rumbling stomach reminded him that he had not eaten in hours. Half-heartedly he walked into the kitchen where he guessed Amy would be. _Bingo_. There she was, preparing lunch. She ignored the fox when he walked in and continued ignoring him as he looked into the refrigerator for something to eat. He wondered if Amy was making lunch for all of them, or only for herself, and if he could ask her for something. _Of course not. She's mad at you. _The fox mentally sighed as he ignored his mind's comment. He kept his gaze on the refrigerator not knowing what to eat. All he craved for was milk, the one thing they didn't have.

"How long are you planning on being in my way?" Amy asked, exasperated. At first the fox thought she meant that he was in the way of her life, so he readily turned around and was about to snap at her when he realized he was standing between her and the refrigerator. _Oh_. He moved away, albeit offended at her tone.

"Where is Sophie? Shouldn't she be preparing lunch?" Tails asked hoping he could start a conversation.

"She went with the others to try to get more food," the hedgehog replied as she shut the refrigerator's door.

"I see. It isn't safe here for them."

"Nowhere is genius."

"Cut the crap Amy, stop giving me an attitude. I'm not here to annoy you and I'm not talking to you just to get in your face. I think they should leave. If anyone catches us and they are with us they will most probably be killed and I don't want innocent people that have been trying to help us dead."

The pink hedgehog, with a bowl in hand, looked at the fox with a scowl. She wanted to start a fight, she wanted to yell at the insensitive fox, make him understand how she felt. Instead she swallowed hard and asked, "where would they go?"

"I think they should find an apartment in Station Square and act like the others. It's the safest thing."

"You do realize that we'd have to make up a story for them. Where they were before, why they moved, why they want to stay in Station Square. Besides, someone might recognize them and-"

"And it's not like they can use the glasses because there's a time limit," Tails interrupted her. The hedgehog nodded, a little bit reluctantly.

"So what's your plan?"

"I was thinking—"

A shrieking sound outside interrupted Tails' train of thought. He mouthed 'duck' and the pink hedgehog complied. They waited in silence for a few minutes but whatever had made that sound failed to make it again. For a moment fear clutched the fox's throat, but he remained cold faced. He knew none of them were safe anymore. The recent events in the Mystic Ruins were suspicious and he knew it was only a matter of time until Eggman figured out exactly what was happening. Not only did the other have to move to a safer place, but they all had to start acting _now_. _And I think I know what we should do. _

"Amy, we have to assemble. The others have to come meet us, it's time for a comeback," he whispered.

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'll tell you when we're all here. Can you take the passage and get Sophie and the others? I'm going to contact Sonic."

"You expect me to go outside after we just heard that?" she asked skeptically.

"I think it's gone. You'll be fine, I know you will."

For a split second Amy thought she had heard affection in his voice. He wasn't worried for her safety because he thought she could take care of herself, but maybe he still cared. She knew that now wasn't the time to argue or bring up a long conversation about feelings, so she simply nodded. Tails watched her get up and leave. He admired her. Once she left he made his way to the laptop. He sent a quick assembly message and hoped the others would arrive soon. If his plan was going to work they had to act fast.

* * *

Amy ran towards the nearest clearing as she checked if her glasses were on. Knowing that this was the only place left to look for them, she looked anxiously around her. She couldn't hear anyone, nor did she see the silhouettes of anyone. Beads of cold sweat ran down her neck as panicky thoughts filled her head. She had thoroughly checked every farming area for her friends, and not even a hint was to be found in any of them. If they weren't here, the worst was to be expected.

She slowed to a steady walk, stepping on tall grass and searching. Scared on the possibilities, she gulped down her pride and attempted contact with Tails. The fox promptly answered, curious as to the reason for contact.

"I couldn't find them Tails. I'm still looking around the clearing, but what are we going to do if they're gone? Eggman will kill them."

"Stay calm and steady. Maybe they're crouching or took cover in a cave. Whatever made that screeching noise earlier might've scared them," Tails tried to comfort her as he loudly worked on some metal and banged on his keyboard.

The drying grass was everywhere, it seemed like nothing green and fresh could be planted on the clearing's soil. Everything would turn into a drying golden yellow, barren and lifeless. It was unnaturally quiet, as if every ant and cricket had fled in fear. Nothing but the wind, the clouds, the drying grass and sterile soil and the unexpected visitor. The further in she walked the more depressing the view seemed. It was as if miles below there wasn't a clear sea bursting with life, and miles above flickies flying freely. A sea breeze would be everything but fitting with the scene.

And that was when the stench of blood hit her.

On the floor, camouflaged by the tall grass, was the body of a beheaded female human. A few meters north was another beheaded body, this time of a middle aged man. To the east was another body, presumably of a teenager, and to the west another male. All with laser wounds, all reeking of brunt meat and blood. No signature was left behind, not even the Eggman label, so there was no way to know for sure who had created this gory painting with real life. But Amy knew it was him. It had to be him.

* * *

All Tails heard was the sudden sucking of air and then panicked panting. No movement, no words, just panting. Never had he heard this from Amy, and the only reason he could find for such abnormal behavior was shock. _They're dead_. Nothing would shock her, or hurt her more. _She needs me there_. Sonic and the others were expected to arrive any minute, finding Amy would mean lost time explaining and putting the plan into practice. Not finding Amy would mean an emotional unstable, and thus unusable, agent. It could even lead to her acting irrationally and compromising the entire mission. But it was more than that. Not finding her would mean abandoning a friend; it would lead to a broken Amy that would take years to fix, and something about that made him want to cry. She would need comfort and closure. And their friends needed rest, peace, and respect.

* * *

Warm hands touched her shoulders and wrapped themselves around her. Soothing whispers tried to calm her panting. They weren't safe. Someone could be watching them. Yet they could not leave. He ran his hands up and down her arms and turned her body around to face him. Green eyes wide open, dry, awake. She did not deserve this kind of suffering. A soft kiss on the forehead, and he then sat her down on the grass next to a shovel. She looked from the shovel to the fox multiple times before letting her eyes close and tears fall. A reassuring pat, before he picked the tool up and walked past her towards the reddened grass.

The graves weren't very deep, for lack of time, but each body was buried with its matching head, that were all found piled together not far from Jason's body. Tails looked around in the hopes of finding some kind of flower, but there was nothing but sickening death. He let his gratitude for Sophie's kindness show as he spoke of the deceased, but tried his best to contain his tears. They were good people who had survived in a harsh world…or tried to. And it was his fault they were killed. He was meant to protect them. If everyone had been dead or if everyone had stopped meddling with Eggman they could still be alive… but guilt can eat you up, so you have to control it. He had been slowly getting better at dealing with death and guilt; he could not lose it now. Revenge. It was time to stop these useless deaths.

Tails walked back next to Amy, where she was still sitting and pulling her legs towards her chest. "We'll come back with flowers next time, and we'll turn this clearing bright green and full of life. They deserve that."

Scooping the hedgehog up, he took off towards the workshop. The last few sunrays still shone on the clearing. It was sundown, and he'd have some explaining to do.


End file.
